The Colonel Vs The Parsons' Boogie Man
by pastorannie
Summary: The entire Team Bartowski come to Parson Coburn's rescue when an extremely dangerous drug lord threatens Colonel Casey and her church people.
1. Chapter 1

The Colonel Vs. the Parson's Boogie Man

Chapter 1

The rapping of frantic fists was heard on the office door, and Pastor Annie Coburn rose from her desk with a weary sigh. It was 3:30p.m. in the afternoon on a rare, summer's sunny day in the Pacific Northwest, and already she had two medical emergencies within her congregation, and one death that day. Somehow, she was again trying to study for her Sunday sermon, but each time she sat down at her desk, a new emergency rose up. "People over paper," she reminded herself, and opened the office door to come face to face with the two woman whose offices were down the hall. They were highly excited and pushed their way into the office, jabbering to each other and to her at the same.

"Jackie, Rachel, calm down, here sit and tell me what's up." She let them sit down in front of her desk, and then pulled another chair close to them. Jackie, the young Hispanic woman spoke first.

"Pastor, they are at it again. They are right outside the church's windows and flipping us the bird. One of them even tried to pull his jeans down and flash us." The other woman nodded frantically, and then took up the monologue.

"And so we just pulled out our cell phones and took pictures of them, and then Jackie locked up the outside door so they couldn't come in. That's when I saw the gun." Rachel, the other nurse who worked for a health care program housed at the church for low income families, explained further.

"What? A gun?" Annie was trying hard to get the story straight from both of them, but they kept interrupting each other. "Whoa, whoa, ladies. Deep breaths in, slow out." She tried to calm them down enough to get things straight.

Jackie visibly slowed her breathing, and then nodded in agreement. "It's the same hoods that have been dealing crack behind the bus stop and the alley way to the school. We have called and called the local police and they never can catch them."

Rachel nodded, and showed Annie the pictures. She recognized one of the young men as a leading drug dealer in her community, and knew they had probably come out of the flop house on the edge of the church property.

"Rachel, go lock the front door, and let me call the Drug Task Force. You have got pictures, and names and it's time we call some higher ups then the locals." Annie reached for the phone, and dialed up the number of a deputy sheriff who attended her church. Within 15 minutes, several county police cars sped down the alley, and cut off the dealers from escaping. As the three women stood by the locked front door, the leader struggled against his arresting officer as the police was trying to get him into the Drug Task Force car, and stared right at Annie Coburn. He continued to fight two officers as they tried to get him in the car, but he twisted himself to face the pastor and screamed uncontrollably at her in Spanish.

"Oh, Lord," Jackie's face blanched, and her hand flew up to her mouth in horror.

"What did he say?" Rachel looked at her co worker, and watched as a tear leaked out of Jackie's eye.

Jackie turned to Annie, and grabbed the pastor's hands tightly. She gulped, and shakingly said,

"He just said that before tomorrow night, you and your people are dead."

"John, my main man, you have now sold the most Beast Master grills any Buy More employee has ever had the privilege to sell ever in the history of the franchise." Morgan Grime, the manger of the Burbank Buy More had just come up to congratulate the tall Marine on this wonderful accomplishment, which John Casey just grunted and walked away shaking his head. Chuck Bartowski, Morgan's best friend, grinned at his N.S.A. handler's disgruntled face, and watched his handler walk away from Morgan.

"You know Morgan, if Sarah and I didn't already have two Beast Master's grills, I would certainly buy one from Casey." Chuck laughed as Morgan piped up and said, "yeah, I got three from him."

"Three? Man, Morgan, do you not have a single back bone in that Buy More spine of yours?" Lester Patell mocked Morgan, and then was interrupted by his co-hort, Jeffrey Barnes.

"But Lester, we have six. Casey made us buy six 'cause of that woman's bathroom peeping camera thing last spr..." Lester clapped his hand over Jeff's mouth before more words could come out of his perpetually inebriated friend, and the two of them slunk off away from Chuck and Morgan.

"I don't think they will ever change, Morgan." Chuck laughed again, and then his cell phone rang out the Mexican Hat Dance. When he looked down it was a picture I.d. of Pastor Annie Coburn.

"Pastor Annie, helloooo from beautiful downtown Burbank Buymoria. How are you, dear Lady?" Chuck grinned into the phone, while Morgan waved hi. They had all come to love the joyful preacher from the Pacific Northwest, almost as much as the stoic, tall Marine who nicknamed her his "Parson."

Morgan began to turn away from Chuck but Chuck caught his arm, and motioned him closer. "Yes, John is here with us, but I don't understand why you can't call him. Yes, we were just talking to him. Let me get Morgan to track him down." Morgan gave Chuck two thumbs off and ran down the aisles toward the large appliance section of the store. Not finding Casey there, Morgan sprinted down the hallway toward the employee's lounge but only found Lester and Jeff snickering about something over by the lockers. They both turned around swiftly when they saw Morgan, passing a small object between them behind their backs. Morgan began to pace back and forth in front of them, and demanded in his best Casey impression, "what are you two morons up to now?" However, they only snickered even louder and continued to pass the object between them, until Morgan reached around their backs to snag it. However, that meant he came within a few inches of Jeff's toxic breath, and Grimes staggered back, gagging at the stench. "Enough!" Morgan yelled, and slammed his fist in the locker. That seemed to do the trick, as both of the men shut up. However, their gazes were not on Morgan but up and to something behind his head. Jeff handed the small object to Grimes, and they shot out of the lunch room, as quickly as they could.

Morgan grinned to himself triumphantly, "Gotcha you creeps!" he muttered. "Now, Casey, where are you?" He swiftly did an about face and slammed right into the immovable force known as John Casey.

He actually bounced back off Casey's chest, but recovered and passed Casey the cell phone Jeff and Lester has stolen. Casey grunted and then look approvingly at his small friend.

"Good intimidation, Grimes. You are getting better." Casey nodded his approval, deciding not to reveal that he had stood behind Morgan most of the last five minutes.

"Coming from you, sir, that means a lot. Oh, Chuck wanted me to tell you Pastor Annie has been trying to reach you."

John checked his phone, but swore under his breath. "Those dweebs wore the battery down. You got yours?" he demanded and Morgan gladly gave up his cell to Casey.

Casey turned his back to Morgan who began to slip out to give his friend some privacy. Casey dialed the pastor's number and began to drum his fingers on the locker in front of him.

"Parson? It's John. What's wrong, my beloved?" Casey strolled over to the lunch room door and shut and locked it. He began to pace as he listened to Annie's recounting of the day's drug bust by the church and the subsequent threat to her and the church people.

"Do you know who threatened you?" He kept his voice strong and calm, but his pacing was becoming more agitated. When she told him the name of the man, his fist flew into the nearest locker, and dented the entire door.

"Oh, dear Lord, Annie, this man is seriously demented." Casey pulled his fist back, and took some kind of small pleasure in the fact that his knuckles were now bleeding. He then realized his anger only made her more frantic over the phone so he purposely sought his calm, and willed his heart slower. "His name means the 'Boogie Man'. He attacks in the night, paying back ten times for any wrong done to him. His threats are not idle, Annie. You need protection, now, my beloved. No, no, listen to me. I have

been on the receiving end of this man's hate, and it is swift and it is cruel."

Casey lowered his head, and placed his forehead on the locker, as memories of the torture and caning at the hands of this very same drug cartel master. Only Chuck and Sarah's excellent tracking skills had located him before he had died at the hands of the monster, and he had paid dearly for many weeks after with excruciating pain in his back. Scars still ran criss cross horizontally on his back, and he worked daily to stretch the scar tissue so it would not limit his fighting or shooting mobility. Now this same man had found his way north, and somehow into the drug industry of Parson's own town.

"I'm coming as soon as I can get a hold of the General and get her permission. Yes, I will come." Casey gritted his teeth, and said the words again. "Annie, no more discussion. I will come. You and the church need some protection. I know, I will keep my word. I will not take revenge. Yes, beloved, justice, not revenge. I will call you back on my cell, as soon as I know. Beloved, don't go anywhere without someone. Tell Rachel and Jackie to shut the office down, and make sure Sheriff Tracy keeps an eye on the church building. Yes, I do think this monster will come after the church building as well as the people. Yes, I know. I am pleased you called me, beloved. Vaya con Dios, my darling Parson."

Casey hung up the phone, and before he could stop himself, he slammed his fist again into the next locker, and heard the satisfying crunch of s few knuckles cracking. The pain cleared his mind, and he bowed his head, praying to Annie's God for complete protection over her and the loving church she served. When he looked up he was pleasantly surprised to see that the two lockers who has his fist imprinted on them were labeled "Barnes" and "Patell".

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	2. Chapter 2

The Colonel Vs. the Parson's Boogie Man

Chapter 2

Colonel John Casey stormed out of the Burbank Buy More lunch room with only one purpose of his mind. He brushed by several other employees, who only backed further away when they saw the dark, determined frown on his face. Jeff tried to thank him for Parson's new brownies, but Casey just shoved the brownie into his face and kept going. He only slowed down at the Nerd Herd desk long enough to grab Chuck Bartowski, and pull him toward the new door to Castle.

"What's up, buddy? How's the Reverand?" Chuck was trying to keep upright even as Casey was manhandling him toward the underground C.I.A. Center. When they reached the door, Casey paused to let the retina scanner record his eye, and open up. He growled, "Castle, now, Bartowski. We need the General."

"All right, let's do it. What ever you need, big guy." Chuck was normally a hyper young man, but Casey's demeanor could only spell some trouble for Casey's new friend, the Parson, so Chuck tried to bring his exuberant spirit in control.

As they ran down the long stairwell, Chuck waved at Sarah who was working on inputting some information into the mainframe computer. She smiled at him, rose to give him a kiss, but stopped when she saw Casey.

"John? Something wrong?" Sarah Walker had worked with her partner, John Casey, for over four years, and found his dark moods often were omens of some kind of danger they were going to meet.

Casey ignored her and went over to the large console to call up General Beckman. When the huge screen came up, the General was talking to another soldier whose head was down, looking at a folder Beckman was pointing to. When the screen beeped, they both looked up at the camera. Casey startled a bit, and then a small smile played at his lips. Meanwhile, Sarah had gasped, and Chuck was in the middle of a deep flash.

"General, Major." Casey recovered quickly, and stood at attention in front of his commanding officer, and the other soldier.

"Colonel Casey, you are not due to report for another six hours. Is there something wrong?" The General pulled her reading classes off, and stared at her crack N.S.A, agent. She studied his stance, and outside of a flinch and a sold set of his jaw, you would not know that John Casey was upset. However, over twenty years of working with him had made the General an expert at reading the body language of this stoic Marine, and she could see something was irritating him.

"General, ma'am..."Chuck was pulling out of the flash and he was stuttering terribly..."The other man looks just like you, Casey!"

General Beckman glanced at the Major standing at attention by her side, and she then smiled a little.

"Colonel, I will let you make the introduction to Agents Walker and Bartowski."

Casey sighed, irritated at having to wait for amenities, but he went ahead and obeyed the General.

"Sarah, Chuck, this is my brother, Major Chad Shelton."

"Identical twin brother, born 3 minutes later to Elizabeth and Manfred Coburn, named Chad Coburn.

Later because of security reasons, renamed Chad Shelton, former Los Angeles Police Department detective of Internal Affairs."

"Enough!" the General barked and Chuck shut his jaw quickly. During this time, the Major was enjoying his brother's discomfort at the revelation of even more of Casey's family history being known. Casey just glared at his slightly younger brother, and then cleared his throat.

"Ma'am, I need to take some time off to help Parson Coburn." Casey got right to the crux of the matter, but Sarah and Chuck noticed the surprise look on Shelton's face at the mention of Casey's girlfriend. He bent over to whisper something in the General's ear, who nodded quickly and then returned her attention to Casey.

"Colonel, we have been running surveillance protection duty on the Parson and the Major here has just notified me that she was threatened earlier this morning by the local drug lord. I need to run the name of the drug lord past Agent Bartowski." The General looked at Chuck and he nodded.

Both Casey and the Major said the name the same time: "El Llorono". Sarah and Chuck were amazed at the stereo sound that came from both men speaking, but not as amazed as the Major looked.

"I see you know this man, John?" Chad asked his brother gruffly.

"Intimately." Casey turned his back to the general and his brother, and lifted his shirt. There, numerous red welts were spred across his back, some still oozing clear moisture. He pulled his polo back down and returned to face the General, but Chuck again was in the throes of a huge flash.

_Whipping, endless caning_

_tatoos_

_Latin Disciples_

_Bombs_

_The Crying Man_

_Casey hanging from the ceiling, blood dripping_

_being tortured ruthlessly_

"Casey, The Crying Man is one very bad dude." Chuck stumbled slightly from the flash and Sarah helped him sit down in a chair nearby. He continued to stroke his forehead, and stared at his stoic handler, a man who had suffered greatly at the hands of this monster. "Oh, General, we have got to help Pastor Annie, if this is the man who is threatening her." Chuck struggled to stand up, and he moved closer to his tall friend.

"Agent Bartowski, Colonel, we understand that. The Major's intel also has the Crying Man selling some new automatic weapons to the black market in trade for high level cocaine and Ecstasy that he intends to sell to the meth users in the Pacific Northwest." The General agreed.

"John, that's how El Llorono came to Pastor Annie's town. The local law enforcement officials have been trying to capture him for over two months, but they have not had any solid evidence that he is the leading drug lord in Annie's town. Until now." Chad took up the explanation.

"Until now?" Sarah asked.

"The other women at Parson's church have pictures and videos of him selling." Casey filled them in on the information he knew from Annie.

"They also have evidence that the house on the end of the church property is his main headquarters, but again no solid conclusive evidence has been found there on any raids." Shelton added.

"Someone on the inside?" Casey asked his brother who only nodded, and shrugged.

"Because we do not have any hard evidence we need you and Chad to go to Pastor's Annie town and begin to track El Llorono down. Whatever it takes, you must find hard evidence that he is the drug lord we are seeking." The general ordered.

"General, what can Chuck and I do?" Sarah asked the woman officer, who glanced at the Major and then continued. "The Major and I agree that you two need to come to the town as undercover arms dealers, and try to arrange a sell with The Crying Man. Between the four of you, the Crying Man will be pinched on all four sides, and perhaps we can ultimately find out who his boss is. Good luck, Team Bartowski. Major, head out immediately and meet the Colonel by helicopter to fly up to Pastor Annie."

Major Shelton nodded, and then saluted the General and his brother. "It will be an honor to serve with you again, Colonel." Shelton grinned, but Casey only growled, "we will see about that, Major."

The screen beeped off, and Casey's shoulders began to slightly stoop. Chuck however, was stoked at the thought of getting to know Casey's "younger" brother. "Hey, big guy! This is fantastic. A family reunion." Chuck clapped Casey on the back, but Casey flinched and hissed as the nerd hit some of the cane welts still infected on his back. Casey whirled around, and stepped dangerously close to his young asset, his face furious, his eyes a dangerous deep blue.

"This is no party, Bartowski, and this is no family reunion. I would much rather protect Parson Annie myself, but now I have to not only drag you 2 along, but my egotistical, stubborn, pig headed, shooting frenzy of a former sleaze cop of a brother with us." By this time Casey was shouting, his face a deep red, his fists clenched in tight balls, fingernails cutting into the palms. He gulped a huge breath down, and rocked side to side on the balls of his feet.

"C..,.." Chuck was hesitant at first, but he did not glance away from Casey's eyes. The room was absolutely silent for two minutes, and then Sarah spoke quietly.

"John, we will do whatever it takes to make sure the Parson and her church and those women are safe. Even if you have to drag all of us with you."

"Yeah, John, we were going to volunteer anyway." Chuck gulped and finally glanced down at his feet, his hands thrust deep into his pockets, his face filled with hurt.

Casey turned away, and his shoulders fell even further. He leaned on the table in front of the large, blank screen, his head on his chest, his fingers drumming on the desk. He straightened up, and turned to face his co-workers.

"I need to ask your forgiveness at my...uncharacteristic outburst." Casey gulped and continued quietly.

"And I do need your help. This job entails more than I can..."he paused, struggling to find the right words. "More surveillance and protection duty than I can manage. I would be honored that you two would come to help, and more than that...you would want to come help."

"Casey, we are your friends. Family. And we consider Pastor Annie part of family too. We don't leave family behind." Chuck spoke up and moved toward the tall man. He stuck out his hand, which Casey slowly shook.

"Now, what does a Pacific Northwest arms dealer look like, Sarah?" Chuck's good mood had returned and the three of them ascended the stairs to depart for Annie's town.

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	3. Chapter 3

The Colonel Vs. The Parson's Boogie Man

[Pastor Annie Coburn, her congregation, and two other women are threatened with their lives by a mysterious man know as "El Llorono", a man who has a dangerous past with Colonel John Casey, and his mysterious brother, Chad Shelton.]

Chapter 3

The helicopter ride to the Pacific Northwest, for the most part, had no conversation between the two men in the front of the chopper. Both jaws were set in grim determination, eyes glaring out of the front windshield, and the only sound between the two were the deep breathing coming over their head phones. Major Chad Shelton, the pilot, was the first to glance at his brother, and he snorted as Colonel John Casey withdrew his Sig Saurer pistol and checked the safety.

"Still using that pea shooter, huh, brother?" Chad grunted, a smirk playing on his lips. Casey shot a death glare his way, and then growled, "blow any innocent bystanders away with your trigger happy

finger, huh, bro?" Shelton instantly stiffened but then he grinned widely, as he handled the chopper's turning fluidly.

"Well, I do admit I love a good gunfight. The bigger the better. 9Mm, Glock, Semi-automatic weapons, M16's, really doesn't matter. As long as there's a lot of noise, and a lot of fire power." Casey snorted at that and grunted in agreement. Chad punched John in the arm, and then placed his open palm on Casey's left arm.

"It has been too long, with too many disagreements between us two. But I meant what I said to the General. It is an honor to serve with you John, and it has been a long time coming." Chad withdrew his hand and then stared at the sky.

Casey nodded quickly, but he spoke no further until Chad asked a question that needed to be answered.

"Pastor Annie Coburn, hum?"

Casey immediately stared at his brother trying to gauge whether Shelton was provoking some kind of rise out of him. Seeing his brother's relaxed body language, Casey could not keep a small grin from his face and said quietly, "She saved my life, Chad. She found me shot and busted up in a the Crown Vic in the bottom of a ravine. I couldn't remember who I was or how I even had gotten there. She took me to her family cabin and nursed me back to health and wholeness."

"The N.S.A.'s top assassin and an ordained reverend. Dad would be rolling over in his grave over that one." Chad laughed freely, and grinned slyly at his brother.

"Yeah, but mom always was praying for us, and maybe...I think her prayers have been answered. Hey, Chad, you hear from Rita any?"

Shelton shook his head, sadly, and then glanced at John. "Last I heard she and Hopper were married and living in some area in Napa Valley, raising grapes and kids."

"Detective Brett Hopper, a vineyard keeper?" Casey burst out laughing, and Shelton chuckled along too.

"Any one special to you, bro?" Casey asked gently, and reached out to touch his brother's arm.

"Nah. I guess Rita was the one for me. Still can't understand what she sees in that s.o.b. Hopper." Shelton was circling the small airfield above Pastor Annie's town, and he begin to reach for his radio, when Casey said loudly, "It's got to be Hopper's good looks!"

Shelton threw his head back, and roared in laughter. He expertly landed the chopper on the asphalt and begin to shut down the engine. He looked at his brother and then asked, "You the good cop, or am I?" Casey thought for a moment, and then grunted, "My turn to be the bad. I look more dangerous."

Chad guffawed at that, and as they alit from the helicopter, he threw his arm around his identical twin brother, reached behind his back and withdrew a Glock from his waistband holster. "Here, desperado, you need a bigger gun then that pea shooter of yours." As soon as he passed the gun to Casey, the Colonel swung around and crashed a fist into his brother's jaw. Shelton reeled back, but step into Casey's body space and the two men began to fight, meeting punch for punch, kick for kick, until Chad struck Casey's left knee cap with his foot, and Casey went down with a grunt onto his right knee. Chad shackled Casey's hands behind his back, and whispered into his ear, "I will let Pastor Annie know we have arrived." Casey grunted in agreement, as he was pulled up roughly by his brother.

Two local policemen came running up and they watched as the pilot pulled out his I.d. and showed it to them. "Major Chad Shelton, National Security Agency, transporting prisoner Jackson to Stafford Creek. We ran low on fuel, so I need to overstay him here." Chad threw the Glock at the cops, and he pulled the Sig and placed it under the Colonel's jaw, pushing it into Casey's jugular. "Make one move, Jackson, and I will blow your head off." Shelton growled, and beaconed the cops to secure Casey into the police car. They moved swiftly, as Shelton, his chest heaving, wiped the blood off his lip. He placed the Sig in his waistband and watched the cops manhandle his brother toward the cop car. Casey was fighting the officers off, and with his large bulk, he was able to get free. He head butted one right into the passenger door, and he karate kicked the other cop to the ground. Shelton raise the Sig at his brother and shouted, "One more step, Jackson, and you will not have a knee cap to kick that poor officer." Casey, sweat pouring from his face, stared at his brother, and saw the slight nod Chad made. He stopped, and allowed the two policemen to get up and over to him. One of the cops, his face red with anger, slammed his fist into Casey's stomach, and the other gun butted his head. Casey dropped like a light and as he lost consciousness, his younger brother was winking at him, and saying in the distance, "that was fun!"

Pastor Annie Coburn was studying in her office, her chairman of the board was acting as guard over

her when the call came in.

"Hello, this is Rev. Coburn speaking, may I help you?" She said cheerfully, and then instantly sobered as she heard a deep, familiar voice in her ear.

"The Eagles have landed, Pastor." The voice emphasized the word "pastor" and Annie knew the voice was not Colonel John Casey.

"I understand. Where will I find this poor man?" She asked and glanced at her friend, Cliff, who was acting as her protector.

"All right. I will be there at the jail in 15 minutes. Can you tell me what is his offense?" Annie jotted some notes down as the voice continued to share some needed facts.

"He is Alexander Jackson, Pastor, and he is wanted to murder. We had to make a fuel stop, on our way to Stafford Creek, and he requested a minister before tomorrow." Chad's voice explained over the phone, and then he softened his tone. "Pastor, don't be alarmed at his face. I'm afraid the local law enforcement suffered at the wrath of Alex Jackson, and he took a beating." The voice spoke louder, and then laughed cruelly. "Yeah, he's a pretty hard case, ma'am. The s.o.b. needed an attitude adjustment, and these fine officers did me a great favor. All right, you are cleared to come talk with him, but only if I am present." He looked up at the Lieutenant in charge, who nodded his clearance. Chad disconnected the phone, nodded to the cops, and took a seat to wait for the pastor.

Annie and Cliff locked up the church building and made their way to the station. The two of them prayed in his car, before she went in, and it helped her nervous stomach to calm down. When she introduced herself to Chad, she was a little disconcerted at his looks, and she tried not to give away her deep concern for the condition of John Casey. They were escorted through the front security door, into the back rooms where the jail cells were. Only one was occupied, and Annie recognized the back of Colonel Casey. Chad banged on the cell bars, and Casey slowly rolled over to face them. His right eye was swollen shut, and dried blood was on the side of his face. He rose slowly, his hands grasped obediently behind his back, his gaze on the jail floor. The man who was swaying lightly before Annie was frighteningly dissimilar to the confident, handsome man she had come to enjoy ever Wednesday for dinner. Instead, she was looking at a rough, hardened criminal, and she gulped loudly.

"Major, this man is injured and none of you have looked after his wounds?" she demanded, and Chad looked at her in approval, and then hung his head as if convicted.

"Let me in and attend to this man, now." The woman of authority came out, and before Chad knew, he had obeyed her and was passing a first aid kit to her. The door was opened, and she approached the inmate slowly, and softly said, "may I take care of your wounds?" The man before her raised his head, and for a moment she saw the man she loved behind the blood and beatings. But he clamped down on that man, and in the next second she saw him take on the facade of Alexander Jackson. He nodded slowly, and sat down on the cot.

"You the preacher?" he growled, and hissed as she cleansed his face, and bandaged the cuts on his forehead. She was clucking the entire time, and when she reached to check the goose egg on the back of his head, he grabbed her wrist and prevented her from touching him. Shelton immediately withdrew His Sig and pointed it at "Jackson."

"Easy, sir, I won't touch it. Major, put that pea shooter away. He didn't hurt me." Casey grunted at the slam against his own gun, but he covered it by coughing slightly. Annie tried not to grin at Casey's verbal growl, but then she asked him, "why did you need a preacher?"

"Killed a man. Need some..." "Jackson" bowed his head, and clasped his hands in front of his lap. "Weren't raised to kill a man. My ma said iffin I did something God didn't like, I need to ask Him...to not kill me." Casey was slowly drawling his words outs, and before her very eyes, she saw him transform into an uneducated ruffian. He looked up at her right into her eyes, for a second and then dropped his glance. "I ain't done right by ma, and I ain't done right by God. You help me do right by God, right, preacher lady."

Annie reached out to touch his hand, and noticed that Chad had raised the pistol and was aiming it at his brother. Casey allowed her to take his hand, and together they bowed their heads. She said a short prayer for forgiveness, and as she prayed, she passed him a small pill. When they finished, Chad helped her stand up, and "Alexander Jackson" stood slowly too.

"Mighty nice of you, Parson, to come help me." Casey raised his head and looked intently at his woman. The use of his favorite nickname for her was not lost on her, and a few tears sprang up in her eyes. But she straightened her back, and nodded at the prisoner. Shelton then led her out of the cell, and locked the door behind them. As they reported back to the lieutenant, Casey swallowed the pill, and waited for the next part of their plan to begin.

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	4. Chapter 4

The Colonel Vs. the Parson's Boogie Man

Colonel Casey had volunteered to be a scapegoat in a sting operation to catch a drug Lord by the name of El Llarono, who has been terrorizing his new friend, Pastor Annie Coburn.

Chapter 4

"Lt., I must say I am impressed with your law enforcement officers here in this town. They were instrumental in catching Jackson when he tried to escape from the helicopter. I expect Jackson will be monitored throughout the night?" Major Chad Shelton drew the Sig out, and expertly checked the cartridge to make sure the gun was full. The lieutenant raised an eyebrow at the small gun, but his expression changed to awe when Shelton began to add a silencer and scope.

"Nice weapon you have there, Major." the policeman nonchalantly moved in to take a closer look, as Shelton checked the safety and then passed it butt first to the cop. "Yeah," Chad muttered and looked closely at the cop's face, "it's brand new in the N.S.A., much smaller to conceal then a Glock, but it's fire power and accuracy are amazing." The cop was fascinated by the weapon, and he tested the weight of the pistol.

"Mmm, much lighter than I would have thought. Well, here, Major, thanks. We could always use more firepower against someone like Jackson back there in the cell." The lieutenant signaled with his head toward "Jackson"'s cell, but then he passed the gun back to Shelton.

"Well, Lt., it will probably be a few years before this baby hits the streets for civilian law use, but I will make sure your force gets the first shipment. My thanks for helping me out." Shelton grinned and stuck his hand out, once the Sig was placed back in his waist band holster. The Lt. brightened up at the statement and shook Shelton's hand thoroughly.

"Just doing my job, sir." The Lt. grinned heartedly and slapped Chad on the shoulder. Chad tried not to grunt at the invasion of his body space, so he withdrew his wallet and passed a business card to the Lt. "I saw a hotel on the way here. If you have any trouble with Jackson, call me on the cell listed there, Lt."

"Here, let me send one of my officers with you to help you get settled in". The Lt. was about to call one of the men who had manhandled Casey earlier, but Chad waved him off.

"No, no, the hotel is just down the street, and after today I need to get some walking in." Shelton grabbed his duffel bag and before the cop could interfere any more, Chad left swiftly through the front door and strolled down the street toward the hotel. As he left the station, he nodded slightly as the Parson as she was leaving the police station parking lot with her friend. He withdrew his cell, and speed dialed Charles Bartowski's phone.

"Yo, Major!" the asset's voice was chipper, and Shelton growled loudly over the phone.

"Casey, that's not you, is it?" Chuck stammered as the voice over his cell was so like his handler.

"Bartowski, you moron. Of course not. Casey got the short straw and he's locked up in the cell. Pastor gave him the drug and we should hear from the O.I.C. within thirty minutes. Does the name Lt. Richard Fletcher ring any bells?" Shelton glanced back at the police station, and he could see the Lt. calling someone on the police headquarter phone.

"Fletcher...Fletch.."Chuck's voice faded and then came back on very excited. "Major, he's El Llarono's inside contact. I just accessed his file, and he has been selling artillery to and from 'The Boogie Man' this last year."

"I thought so. He seemed mighty interested in John's personalized Sig and I think I got him hooked into contacting me for further models. Good work, Chuck. How far out are you from here?"

As he asked, a silver BMW slowly drove past him, and Chuck's face was plastered up to the glass. Gleefully, the nerd waved but Shelton turned his back to him and seemed to look up into the sky.

"Walker, tell your boyfriend to not blow my cover!" Shelton growled, and proceeded down the street. He flicked off the phone and strolled confidently up to the hotel to check in and wait on the call from the police station.

"I tell you, Sarah, that man is just like Casey, a big, tall, bully!" Chuck looked a little hurt, but brightened when they reached their destination. He hopped out of his passenger side, and helped Sarah out of the driver's seat. They walked into the real estate office, his arm around her waist, and her hips were swaying extra hard to the nearest male real estate agent.

"Well, may I help you?" The agent asked the nice, young, and rich couple in front of them. Bartowski reached his hand out cheerfully, and shook the agent's hand briskly.

"Carmichael, Charles Carmichael, and this beautiful angel is my darling wife, Sonya. Say hi to the nice man, sweetheart." Sarah gazed with big eyes at the man, and smiled widely. She extended her hand, and giggled loudly. The man's eyes grew large at this woman, and he seemed to preen a little in front of her before he sat down.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, how may I be of assistance today?" He smiled widely at Sarah but turned his attention back to Chuck, who assumed a comfortable position on the chair in front of the agent's desk.

"Now, Mr..." Chuck peered at the nameplate and grinned widely, "Mr. Otis Preminger, is that right? Mr. Preminger, we just love your little town and my darling wife here, just fell in love with it, and wants to buy a home here right today." Chuck grabbed Sarah's hand, and kissed it loudly, as she giggled again, in a high pitch squeal.

The real estate agent promptly gulped and stuttered, "to...today, Mr. Carmichael?" He patted his tie down nervously, and then grabbed a notepad.

"Money, I say, money is no object, is it, Sonya, sweetie. Now, you tell this nice man what kind of house you want. Go ahead, sweetie." Chuck laid another full kiss on Sarah's mouth, and groaned as he pulled away, half pretending and half not. She giggled again and then looked innocently at Mr. Preminger.

"Well, Mr. Otis, may I call you that?" Sarah drawled her voice out, and grinned at the poor man, who nodded enthusiastically. "Mr Otis, I need 5 bedrooms, large master suite, completely redone daylight basement, and a run for my poochikans. Is there any thing else I left out, Chuckwuckie?" Sarah turned her big eyes onto her "husband" who barely kept his laughter under control.

"Now, Sonya, sweetie, don't you remember we want a good neighborhood, maybe near a church. That's pretty safe around here, don't you think, Mr. Preminger?" Chuck knew Sarah had the man totally wrapped around her little finger, when the man was just about drooling all over his notepad.

"Church? Wha? Oh, church building. Yes, I do think I have such a home like that" Mr. Otis Preminger typed a few sentences on the computer keyboard and brought up a beautiful, spacious home for them to see.

"I don't know, Chuckwuckie, that seems so little." Sarah pretended to bite her fingernails, as she checked the address of the house. Mr. Otis typed quickly some more, and when the next home came up, it was only one block from El Llarono's drug home near Pastor's Annie's church building.

"Oh, Mr. Otis...that's it." Sarah jumped up and down, and leaned over to kiss the real estate agent's cheek. He became flustered, his face beet red, and he looked down at the screen. Chuck glanced at Sarah and nodded swiftly.

"Now, Mr. Preminger, when my little lady says she wants something, I give it to her. How much is that lovely piece of real estate?"

Mr. Otis stared at the screen and gulped again. "Um, Mr. Carmichael, it is currently on the market for 1.5 million, but I am sure..." Chuck interrupted him and shouted. "SOLD!" All the other real estate agents looked up at the outburst and Chuck stood and shook the man's hand, whose mouth was opening and shutting like a beached fish.

"Now, Mr. Preminger, you just sit right down, and draw up the contract, and the Mrs. and I will get a cashier's check for the amount from the local bank, is that all right?" The man nodded numbly, and Chuck rapped his desk twice.

"Right-o! Chop, chop, man, get the contract drawn up!" Chuck ordered and then settled back in his seat. Sarah was chewing bubble gum, and kept clapping her hands until the man rushed off into the back room to print up the contract. Chuck slipped a wire tap on the phone, and Sarah dialed Shelton.

"Why, daddy," Sarah drawled, "you'd never guess what Chuckwuckie did for me today?" She heard Shelton snort on the phone, but she chose to ignore it. "Yes, he just bought me a 1.5 million dollar home today." She pulled the cell away from her ear, as she heard Shelton explode with several choice cuss words at the horrific amount the Federal Government was going to have to pay out. Chuck grinned and said quietly, "Yep, Casey's flesh and blood! Same language!"

Mr. Preminger had returned with the paperwork, and after several signatures, the house was officially sold to Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Sonya Carmichael for 1.5 million dollars. The couple left and drove the BMW down to the local bank, where a cashier's check was already made out for the amount Shelton has told the officials to write. When they came back they presented the check with a flourish to Mr. Preminger who kept shaking their hands until Chuck finally had to physically pull away. Sarah once again kissed the man on the cheek, and the happy couple left the real estate agent in a daze.

Sarah once again called Chad, and told him what had passed. She then asked if the agent had made any calls from his desk. Shelton confirmed that the man had called the lieutenant at the police station.

Sarah giggled, and then asked seriously, "Anything from John yet?"

"Not yet, Walker. Wait, call's coming in. Hold on." Shelton beeped the cell over, and sure enough the lieutenant's voice was screaming over the phone.

"Major, you have got to get back here on the double." The cop was yelling over the noise of several pieces of furniture breaking.

"Good Lord, man, what's happening?" Shelton had an idea the pill that the Pastor had given Casey was beginning to work, but he waited as the cop ranted.

"Listen, Fletcher, don't let him out of the cell until I get there. I think I know what is happening. Send a car for me, now." Shelton grabbed the Sig, checked the chamber to make sure the dummy bullet was in there, and rushed out the door to meet the squad call. He beeped Sarah back, updating her, and clicked off just as the police cruiser screeched into the hotel's parking lot. He jumped in, and by the time they rushed into the back of the station, Casey was in full rage, his body sweating profusely, his blue eyes almost black, his pupils dilated, his chest heaving. He swung around when Shelton entered the room and tried his best to reach from him.

"You...you s.o.b." Casey screamed, flinging himself at the bars. The intensity of Casey's rage was a little startling to Chad, and as he fixed his eyes on his brother, he saw that John was teetering on losing his sanity.

"Jackson, stand down." Shelton shouted, full military voice. Casey stopped the rampage, and gasped, swaying heavily as he tried to see his brother through his sweat. Suddenly, the Colonel grabbed his belly, and doubled over, as the stomach cramp ramped up. "God, help me..." Casey groaned, and laid himself in a fetal position on the cool cement. Shelton cautiously took the keys from the lieutenant

hand, and opened the door wide enough for only him to enter. He drew the Sig and the red spotter light appeared on John's back.

"Jackson, stand down." The major ordered again, as he watched Casey shiver uncontrollably. With the Sig still on his brother, he motioned for the cop to enter the cell, and thew him the cuffs. "Now, Fletcher." The major ordered, but before the cop could get close, Casey reared up one last time, and tried to attack Chad. Shelton threw his entire weight onto John's chest and push him into the cement wall at the back of the jail. "No,no,no,no," Shelton repeated, his Sig was directly over John's left shoulder and he growled deeply, pushing his left arm against John's throat. "I will shoot you, Jackson. I will shoot you." Casey was turning red, trying his hardest to get Chad to release his forearm off Casey's throat. He suddenly looked up at Chad, and a flash of recognition registered in his feverish eyes. Then he groaned loudly and went limp, clutching at his belly again. Chad released him, and Casey slid down the wall to the floor, writhing uncontrollably in front of Chad. Shelton grabbed Casey's arm, and pulled up the sleeve. There on Casey's arm, were dozens of red track marks. Chad ripped Casey's shirt open and examined under his arm pits. There again track marks were seen, and Shelton grumbled a curse word. He stood and hauled off and kicked Casey in the ribs, and Casey bent his body back to deflect the kick. Unfortunately, Chad had miscalculated his foot, and Casey screamed out as his right kidney was bruised. Fletcher grabbed Shelton's arm and yelled to get his attention.

"God, what are you doing, Major?"

"He's a filthy junkie. Those are heroin needle marks, and who knows what else he is coming off of. There's no way I can transport him in this condition." Chad was breathing laboriously also, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He tried to haul off to kick his brother again, but Fletcher stopped him.

"Major, I think I can help your prisoner there. We just need to get him to a squad car." Fletcher eyed the raging Major sternly, until Chad nodded his agreement. They reached down and pulled Casey up, and Chad noticed the raging fever his brother's body was emitting. Casey could not look up at him, and he barely could move his feet, so the two of them moved slowly through the station to the car in the back. They dumped Casey into the back of the car, and Fletcher took the wheel. As the lieutenant drove, Shelton glanced in the back seat at his brother, who continued to moan softly and jerk convulsively. Sure enough, the squad car drove up to the back door of the house at the edge of the church's property. Fletcher turned his body to Chad and spoke low.

"I will be back, Major. You stay here with him." He jerked his thumb at Casey and stepped out of the car. Chad got just a glimpse of El Llarono at the back door, and he swiveled his body so that the Latin Disciple would not see his face. He spoke loudly for Casey's benefit, who was struggling in the back seat to control the shivering.

"It's him, John. El Llarono, the Crying Man. Fletcher's buying some stuff off of him."

"Chad..." Casey moaned low, as his stomach continued to spasm. "What was in that pill? Lord, have mercy..." he prayed softly, and tried to pull himself up.

Shelton watched Casey sit up and he was amazed at the strength of will he saw in his older brother. "'Don't let them inject you, John, for real. It will kill you. You are going through withdrawals, and the med was a pretty strong sedative."

"Feels like a bunch of glass ripping my gut up." Casey moaned again and doubled over, his arms wrapped tight around his abdomen.

"Hang in there bro. I'm sorry about the kidney." Chad was softening as he watched his brother suffer, but then he laughed when Casey looked him right in the eye and threatened; "you and me, will be working how to pull your kicks for the next sis weeks, bro!" Casey spat out the last word, and then he turned toward the back door.

"Oh, Lord," Casey exclaimed and dunked down into the back seat below the window. Chad spun around and asked "what?" and then he saw whom Casey had seen: Alexi Volkoff.

Please don't let The Colonel's and my tummy be upset, leave a review and some Pepto Bismo!


	5. Chapter 5

The Colonel Vs. The Parson's Boogie Man

Chapter 5 [note: Any earlier appearance of Volkoff in the canon series has not occurred in this alternative universe.]

Col John Casey and his brother, Major Chad Shelton are trying to discover who is behind the threats to Casey's woman. However, their sting reveals a more dangerous enemy then they thought.

"Alexi Volkoff? What is he doing with scrum like El Llyarono?" Chad Shelton pulled his hood over his head and turn away from Lt. Fletcher and Volkoff on the porch, so that both of the men would not be able to make out his face. "John, what has your pastor gotten herself into?" Shelton demanded, and glanced behind the glass shield that separated him from his brother, who was in the back seat, crouched double and groaning, suffering the effects of a sedative he had taken to mimic the effects of heroin addiction.

"Chad, call her now." Casey gasped out, and tried to wipe the sweat off of his face. He peeked up out of the back window, but bent down quickly when he say Fletcher and Volkoff glancing his way. "She has got to know more...aggh" Casey began to gag as the pain ramped up. "Should of let you play the bad cop, bro!" He groaned, and began to kick the passenger door to try and make the pain bearable.

"Hold on, Casey." The major quickly dialed the pastor's cell phone, as he tried to keep his eye on the crooked cop talking to El Llarono and Volkoff.

"Pastor Annie it's Chad. Yeah, I'm with him." Chad looked at his brother with a twinge of sympathy and tried to soften the truth he was to say. Casey stared at his brother, and warned him, "Don't lie, Shelton, not to her. We have been through too much...aggh." Casey doubled up again, and kicked the door. Unfortunately, his woman heard the pain over the phone, and called out his name.

"He's not good, Annie, but we are behind the church building at El Llarono's house. Yeah, it's him behind the drug deals, but do you know anything about Alexi Volkoff?" Chad continued to watch Fletcher, who now was dolling out money to El Llaryono as something was exchanged. Volkoff has reentered the house, and the lieutenant was beginning to step off the back porch and head for the squad car.

"Listen, Pastor, Fletcher is coming back. Yeah, he's the dirty cop. Ok, call me back in about an hour." Chad hung up quickly and reported to his brother. "She's with Officer Tracy, the deputy sheriff, and they will find out about Volkoff. Head's up, John, he's coming back, and he's got the drugs."

Casey grunted in acknowledgment, and began to continue to kick the door, and groan out his pain. As the lieutenant got into the car, Casey reared up his head, and banged it on the shield, screaming as he continued to try and hurt himself. "My gut is explodin'." Casey drawled and continued to hit the shield with his hands and head.

"Dear God, Fletcher, you better give him something before he either kills himself or us." Shelton brought out his Sig and unlocked the safety. He banged the gun on the shield and pointed it at Casey's head. "Shut up, scumbad, or I will blow you away." Shelton threatened, and Casey quieted down. Again, Fletcher looked longingly for a second at the gun, but then he nodded as he started the car.

"Let's get out of here before any one sees us. I've got some good stuff, and we will get your man fixed up real nice."

Shelton growled deeply. "He's not my man, and if you don't fix him, I will turn this lovely prototype on your brains and see how they splattered." The threat seemed to deflate the proud dirty cop, and they rode back to the station in silence, except for an occasional groan from the back seat.

"Not here, Fletcher. Are you nuts?" When Shelton saw where the lieutenant was taking them, he pointed the Sig at the cop. "You already have made sure two other people know about us, and I won't chance having an entire police station know any more. My hotel room. Now." He ordered and Fletcher nodded once and changed direction.

Once they arrived, the lieutenant dragged Casey out of the back seat, but he needed Chad's help to get him into the hotel. They bypassed the main desk, and slipped past through the back door, and into Shelton's room. Once in the room, Shelton threw Casey onto the bed, and placed his right knee on Casey's chest.

"Fletcher, get the stuff ready now." Chad looked intently at his brother, who kept begging for the fix. He brought out the Sig again and pointed it under Casey's chin. He glanced at Fletcher, who was opening the cupboards in the small kitchen to look for a small pot. The cop found one and slowly began to melt the crystal he received from El Llarono. Meanwhile, Casey was trying to rear up and fight his brother, but his intense pain was preventing him from throwing his brother up. "Easy, Jackson, he's coming." Shelton assured the man, but bent down and lowered his voice. "Don't let him inject you, John. He'll kill you, remember." Casey nodded once, but looked hungerly at the needle Fletcher was filling with the melted drug.

"We need a tourniquet to pop up his veins." Fletcher glanced around as he approached the two men, struggling on the bed. Shelton growled "Belt. Take his belt." He pointed to Casey, and held him more secure as Fletcher undid Casey's belt and looped it around Casey's right arm, pulling it tight, until Casey's main vein popped up.

"Please, please, you got to pop me, Please." Casey begged and licked his lips as the needle came closer.

He began to thrash around, but Shelton pressed the Sig onto his temple. Fletcher hit the vein a couple time with his hand to make the vein stand up even more, and Shelton let up slightly on Casey's chest.

Suddenly, Casey reared up, and grabbed the needle from Fletcher's hand. Shelton was caught off balance and crashed into the small table beside the bed. Fletcher went down also, as Casey kicked him to the side. He turned his back to the men, and emptied the needle contents into the dirty carpet in front of him, He jammed the point of the needle in his arm, plunger down, and turned toward the men, needle flopping out of his arm. Shelton scrambled up, and his hand was sure and pointed at Casey's heart. Before Fletcher could stop him, Shelton shot Casey right directly in the heart, and John spun around, screaming once, and crashing to the floor. The carpet began to fill with blood, as Casey's body jerked several times and then was still.

Fletcher gulped and yelled. "God, what did you do?," as he stared down at the dead man on the floor. He glared at Shelton who was calmly putting the Sig back into his waistband, his jaw set in steel,

"Getting rid of a cockroach." Shelton barked. "Now I can get back home." He calmly picked up his duffel bag and began to pack up his personal items around the room. Fletcher still had not moved, as he continued to stare at the body.

"What are you going to do with him?" Fletcher was sweating, and his voice was frantic. "You can't leave this body here. I will get in trouble with my superiors."

Shelton moved swiftly to the man, and shoved him back against the wall, the Sig under the man's chin.

"I really don't give a spit about you and your superiors." He growled, but noticed that Fletcher's expression had changed from panic to scheming.

"So, Major, do I tell them that you killed Jackson, or maybe we can work out a deal?" Fletcher tried to push Shelton away, but his large frame didn't move. However, he lowered the Sig slightly. The dirty cop grinned cheekily, and pointed toward Casey.

"I can get rid of that body for you. But you will owe me. Big time, bud." Fletcher hit Shelton's chest with his pointer finger, which made Shelton's blue eyes darken in hatred. Fletcher backed off a bit, and then began to explain.

"Body burial for a crate of those guns now, Major." Fletcher reached up and grabbed the gun, which Shelton allowed him to push down. Shelton stepped back, glanced at Casey once, and then nodded.

"Let me get a hold of my contacts." Shelton moved away from Fletcher and the body, and flipped his cell phone, speed dialing a contact number. He spoke low, but Fletcher heard the gist of the message.

"Yeah, I need a crate of the Sigs now. I don't care how you get it here, but you will get here, you understand that?" Shelton growled deeply and then nodded. He shut the phone and looked at Fletcher, the hatred for this weasel of a cop etched on his face.

"Three hours. Coming in from Seattle." Shelton reported as he stared at Casey's body. Fletcher grinned widely, and began to move toward the door. Shelton caught his arm and grunted, "where you going, Fletcher?"

Fletcher turned to the big man, and grinned once again. "Major, you are not the only one with influential friends. I will make arrangements for the..." he paused and looked at "Jackson" still bleeding out on the carpet." I will made arrangements to take out the garbage."

Shelton bore down on Fletcher's arm until the man grimaced. "Where you go, bud," he spoke the nickname with scorn dripping from his tongue, " I go." Fletcher's smile fell and he nodded. He went out the door to return to the cruiser, and as Shelton grabbed his bag he looked once more at his brother, who rose ever so slightly from the floor and winked at him. Casey laid his head back down, and Shelton coughed violently to try and get his amusement under control. As he locked the door, Shelton threw him his hoodie jacket.

Chuck hung up the cell phone, and looked at Pastor Annie, Sheriff Tracy and Sarah. He nodded solemnly at them, and breathed out a worried sigh. "Chad did it. Casey's shot and the deal in on for a crate of Casey's Sigs." He reached for Sarah's hand, and looked with sympathy at the pastor. She had sat nervously waiting for news about her friend and his brother at the dining table in the new home the Carmichaels had just purchased. The sheriff has a case folder and he laid it out in front of Chuck.

"I found out some stuff on the drug Lord. He's called El Llarono, the Crying Man, and he seems to be a little bit of a legend in the Latino community. He's kinda like a boogie man. If a kid doesn't eat his veggies, El Llarono will get him. If a teenager messes up his curfew, El Llarono will get him. He had quit successful drug gangs in L.A. in the late 1990's and your man Shelton was able to take him out of the game. He became a ghost for 8 years, and now throughout the Pacific Northwest, we have received reports of El Llarono setting up new gangs in small towns like ours. What is the interesting thing about this man is that it is not the Mexican cartels that are financing it. It's the Russian Mafia."

"Oh, dear Lord. That's what Chad was asking me about. He said Alexi Volcoff was at El Llarono's home this afternoon, when Fletcher went for Casey's..." the pastor gulped and then spoke the last word softly, ''John's drugs."

As the parson said Volkoff's name, Chuck flashed, his distinctive head shaking and eye blinking, images ramping up across his brain. He shook the headache off, and squeezed Sarah's hand again.

"You're right, Sheriff. Very bad man. Weapons dealing, drug cartels, and even prostitution. We have got to get these men."

"Your man said you needed a crate of prototype guns?" Tracy asked, as he looked at Chuck with great interest.

Sarah rose and filled her cup with fresh coffee from the pot Annie had brought over. "Yes, we got the guns in the back of the BMW but they all have a bad firing pin. They are useless on the street, but I think we can fool Volkoff as long as he doesn't look too close."

"Can we get John out of this mess soon and see if he is ok?" Pastor Annie asked anxiously, and then she looked at her hands, a little embarrassed at raising the question. Sarah sat down beside her, and took her hands gently in hers.

"Annie, we will get both John and Chad out as soon as possible. They know how to handle themselves, and they will be all right." She assured the woman, and Tracy patted the pastor's shoulder.

"From what you told me, both Casey and Shelton are not easily intimidated. You let me know how I can help, and we will get them safely out of there, and put Fletcher, Volkoff and the Boogie Man in prison forever." Tracy picked up the file and said his goodbyes.

Just as the front door closed behind him, Pastor's cell rang, and John Casey's picture lit up.

"Oh, thank you Jesus, it's John." Annie stood up and slipped from the kitchen to talk to him in private.

"John, are you all right?" Annie whispered, and held the phone tightly against her ear. She heard a small groan, and then his voice, though strained, came warmly through the air.

"Parson... I am doing fine...for a dead man." Casey gulped and rubbed the front of his chest, pulling the fake blood pack off of his chest, throwing it down on the carpet.

"Annie, you... are you all right?" Casey laid down on the bed in the hotel room, his baritone getting stronger as the effects of the sedative was finally wearing off. "I have put you through too much, Parson." He sighed loudly, and bowed his head, the weariness finally overtaking his aching body.

"John, no. I chose to be your friend. I chose to have you in my life. You are..." Annie gulped, her voice cracking a little. "the one who has brought great adventure back into my life." She laughed quietly as she heard him grunt.

"Great adventures, huh? You might want more boredom in your life, woman, after this." He smiled, and his soft voice soothed her heart.

"Thank you, John. You and Chad are risking so much for me, and now Officer Tracy found out the Volkoff is financing the cartels here in the town."

John rose quickly up from the bed, and planted his feet over the side. "Volkoff? That explains his presence at El Llarono. Man, this is getting thicker. Hey, what's with the sirens?' Casey listened intently to Annie's cell as it was broadcasting several siren screams.

"Oh, John, Chuck said the church's in on fire. I've got to go." Annie held the phone away from her ear as Chuck was reporting, and almost flipped the phone off when she heard Casey's voice calling out urgently.

"Annie, stop. Don't go. The Crying Man is behind this. If he sees you there..." the phone went dead on him, and he hastily redialed the parson's number. It only went to voice mail, so he dialed up his brother's number, and left a short message on his voice mail.

"Chad, it's the church building. Get Fletcher over there now. It's on fire." Casey flipped the phone off, grabbed Casey's hoodie jacket and zipped up. He threw away the blood packet and cleaned up the rug as best he could. He snapped the needle into pieces and threw that in the outside receptacle as he moved quickly and quietly out of the hotel room.

Thank you for all the reviews on the Boogie Man. Hang in there with the Colonel and the Parson as they try to take down Fletcher, El Llaron, and our foe, Volkoff. Reviews, raves, or ridicule are all appreciated! Leave a message after the beep, John!


	6. Chapter 6

The Colonel Vs. The Parson's Boogie Man

Chapter 6- El Llarono and Volkoff's revenge begins to take a serious turn for the worse as both Parson Annie and Colonel Casey pay dearly.

By the time Chuck, Sarah and the Pastor had run to the church facility a couple of blocks from the Carmichael's house, the entire church was engulfed in flames that shot sky high. The incredible heat from the old growth timbers used in the original sanctuary complex consumed the building swiftly and radiated a full block from the building. The fire engines were trying to contain the flames from spreading to the Christian Education Wing. Major Chad Shelton and the corrupt cop, Lt. Fletcher, were stepping around the church as close as they could get to check for arson. Unable to get very close, Chad and the Lt. gave up the hunt and came to stand beside Casey's girlfriend. Her back was straight, her jaw set, but tears were streaming down her face.

"Oh, dear Jesus, please don't let anyone be in there." She prayed out loud, and the Lt. instantly looked at her.

"Do you think someone is in there?" He grabbed her arm and squeezed tightly, until the Parson grimaced in pain.

"Ease off, Fletcher." Shelton forced him to open his hand up and relax his grab. The Lt. stared at the major, and then growled, "Don't think this little campfire barbeque is going to get you out of our deal." He pulled his arm away abruptly and went to tell the fire chief there may be someone in the church building.

"Thank you, Major. That man gives me the creeps." Annie looked up into the identical face to John Casey, and her heart seemed to stop. "Lord, I really could used the Colonel now," she muttered, and searched his cobalt blues eyes deeply, so like John Casey's. But then she began to notice the very slight differences in his body language, and the cocky way he held his head. He nodded once, and grunted, then watched the firemen try to contain the flames.

As Annie turned back to the flames, the sound of a male voice was heard at the south end of the C.E. Wing. "Help me, please. Please, someone help me." The voice was getting weaker, and before Chuck and Sarah could stop Annie, the Parson began to run toward that end of the building. Though not consumed by the flames, the wing was inundated with deep, black smoke, and as several windows were breaking, the smoke poured out into the street.

"Cliff, is that you? Oh, please, someone help him. It's my Leadership Council chairman. He came to set up for the board meeting tonight." The Pastor ran up to the large window and tried to peer in, straining to see through the black smoke. She banged on the window, and the Major pulled her away.

"Pastor, stop. The windows are being compromised by the heat vacuum, and you pounding on them is not helping." His large arms pulled her away and into a hug, her back pressed up to his chest, every fiber in his body straining to try and calm her down.

"He's on the floor, Chuck. Sarah, please, he's got a bad heart." Annie growled deeply, frantic to get to Cliff. She grunted, so like Casey, stomped on Chad's right foot, and crashed her palm into his nose. He instantly released her as blood again spurted from his nose, and he began to swear very loudly.

She ran toward the building again, until she ran right into a hoodie shrouded wall of great strength. The arms from the man in front of her grabbed her gently but firmly, and the man leaned down into her face.

"Nice job, Parson. Our self defense lessons are taking hold" The invincible wall growled, the corners of his darkened face turning up slightly. Annie threw herself into his arms, and he murmured soft phrases, trying to calm her down, as he held her once again in his arms. She sobbed, gulping loudly, "Oh, John, please help Cliff." She pointed to the room where the elderly man was lying.

"Bartowski, throw that garbage can into the window, and Chad and I can get in there and lift him out." Casey instructed Chuck and Sarah, and the two of them picked the garbage can up and threw it at the window. When Casey went to grab Chad, the man was still doubled over, blowing blobs of blood clots onto the alley driveway. He glanced at Casey, his eyes lit with rage, and then he looked at the Pastor, about ready to step into the building herself.

"John, go get the old guy, and let me corral the Pastor. She is a spitfire, bro. Man, twice in one day. My nose will never be the same." Chad was again stuffing bits of Kleenex up his nose, and gasping for breath, as he turned to limp over to the Pastor.

John clapped his brother on the arm, and left him there to tend to his nose. Chuck and Casey then stepped gingerly over the ragged edges of the broken window and leaned down to check Cliff's pulse.

"Sarah, go get the paramedics. Cliff is alive, but his pulse is pretty weak." Chuck yelled out to Sarah, who nodded and ran off to get the e.m.t.s. Chad trotted up to the window, and tried to reach in to help. Both Casey and Chuck were coughing violently, and the flames were now traveling up above on the ceiling.

"Chuck, John, watch out; the fire is traveling throughout the attic above you." Chad warned, and as Chuck helped Casey pick up Cliff, several beams began to fall behind them. John slung Cliff over his shoulder easily, and trotted to the open window. "Chuck, get out of here now." Casey ordered, backing away from the open window, once more making sure the Intersect was safe. Once Chuck was outside, both he and Shelton took Cliff away from Casey, who glanced backwards, the noise and flames shooting around him. Shelton yelled as a huge beam crashed down from the ceiling and hit Casey in his back. John whiplashed backward, and crashed down onto the window sill, shards of glass imbedding itself in his stomach. He looked surprised, as everyone yelled his name. The flames were devouring the back of his jacket, and his pants were throwing out tendrils of smoke.

"Annie..."Casey groaned loudly, his hand clutched to his belly, staring deeply at his woman, who was rushing to hold his hand. The e.m.t. who was working on Cliff, immediately ran to Casey, and pulled Annie away to safety. "Chad, take care of her for me. Dear Jesus, the pain..." Casey looked at his brother, who reached out and pulled the pastor to his chest once more. Casey's entire body began to shake, as the e.m.t. carefully pulled the smaller pieces of glass from him. One large piece was deeply thrust in his right gut, and the e.m.t. wiggled it to see if he could pull it out. Casey set his jaw, and his entire body jolted in the movement. He grabbed the e.m.t.'s hand, and shook his head violently.

"Leave it in me. Just pull the frame off, and leave it in me." Casey groaned, and with one more gasp, his eyes went back in his head, and his entire body went limp. The e.m.t. radioed for help, and carefully, Chuck and the firemen pried the window frame slowly off, and lifted Casey, glass and all off the window. The Pastor kept calling his name, time and time again, and praying for the Lord to help him. The Major was shushing her, tenderly trying to console this woman he could see Casey truly loved. Sarah was weeping, and Chuck was holding tightly onto her as they watched the paramedics and e.m.t.'s work on both Cliff and Casey.

The elderly man was breathing with oxygen and was stabilized and that medic car roared away. Casey was still unconscious, blood oozing dramatically around the large 4 inch shard. The e.m.t. radioed ahead, and was given instructions to tape it down securely to Casey's body, lest pulling it out damage his internal organs. The firemen draped a blanket around Casey, and lifted the gurney up into the ambulance. The e.m.t. that had worked so hard with Casey went over to the tall man who looked like Casey, now holding a very distraught pastor. He was taken aback at the similarities he saw, but he leaned forward to speak to the pastor.

"Pastor Annie, we will take him to St. Peter's." Chad shook his head violently, and spoke loudly over the ambulance's engine roar. "I have a chopper and I can fly him to Seattle faster than you can get him to Olympia." He showed the e.m.t. his N.S.A. Credentials, and waited for the paramedic to get presiding doctor's permission. He directed the ambulance to drive Casey to the small airport to the south of town, and as Lt. Fletcher came up to find out what had happened, he cornered the man and pushed him roughly to the side away from the pastor. She stepped back, shaking in her sorrow, but Chad kept his hand entwined in hers to assure her.

"Major, where in God's name are you going? We have a deal." The crooked cop hissed, his hand reaching for Shelton's left arm, caring nothing for the injured men, not even realizing he was 5 feet away from Casey. Shelton swallowed his rage, and then nodded to Sarah and Chuck.

"They have what you want, Fletcher. Now get the hell out of my way." He shoved the cop away, and then helped Pastor Annie up into the cab of the one ambulance carrying Casey. He climbed in the back with the e.m.t. and watched the medic take care of Casey. As the ambulance roared off to the airport, Chuck and Sarah were brokering a deal with the Lieutenant, over the crates of specially made Sig Saurs in the back of the B.M.W.

"Fletcher, they are not here with us, but we can walk down to that new home over there, and the little lady and I will be much obliged to have you get them off our hands." Though tremendously shaken by what had happened to his handler, Chuck steeled himself into the role he needed to play, and once he got Fletcher's permission, the couple walked away from the fire, leaving the church building rapidly crashing in on itself.

The lieutenant followed slowly in his rig, and watched the couple closely as he drove. Once then, he put the car into park, and called Volkoff on the phone.

"Nice little barbeque you arranged, Mr. Volkoff." The crooked cop laughed into the phone, but sobered when he heard the tone of voice from El Llarono's boss.

"Keep your mouth shut, and bring me the guns in one half hour." Volkoff demanded, and then cut the line.

Fletcher slid out of the car, and opened the trunk. Chuck and Sarah were slowly carrying the case to his trunk, and as Chuck slid it into the car, he backed away and raised his gun.

"Now, I have kept the little lady here and my bargain. We will give you the rest of the guns when we are informed by our bank that you have deposited a nice 1 million dollars in our account down there in the nice bank run by Mr. Preminger. I believe you know Otis?" Chuck stepped into Fletcher's face, and pointed the gun at the man's chest.

"How...how did you know?" Fletcher blabbed nervously, and nodded vigorously as he stared at the gun.

"I get paid to know, Fletcher. You have a dead body to dispose of, and a very nosy major you saw commit a crime. So why don't I accompany you as you deliver this one crate, and we can make the rest of the arrangements with your boss?" Chuck clicked off the safety on his gun and pushed it even harder into Fletcher's chest. By now, the sweat was pouring off the cop, and he was almost ready to fall into the trunk himself. Chuck motioned for the cop to get into the driver's seat, and then he shut the trunk.

His raging facade dropped for a moment, as he kissed Sarah hard. "Make sure you get it all, now, little lady." He drawled loudly, and Sarah nodded, touching the wire that was placed under his shirt.

"Be back shortly, sweetcakes." He waved at Sarah as he got in the car, and then turned to Fletcher, and aimed the gun at Fletcher's crotch. "Do not do anything to jeopardize any of your little future cops, dude." He grinned widely at Fletcher's discomfort and the two of them drove around the fire trucks and to El Llarono's house.

Love the reviews! Thank you so much for tripping with me through the alternative reality of the Colonel and his Parson. Please continue with comments, criticisms, cute remarks and/or cookie recipes!


	7. Chapter 7

The Colonel Vs. The Parson's Boogie Man

Chapter 7

Recap: The fire that destroyed the Parson's church building traps one of her congregational members. Colonel Casey is able to rescue Cliff but as a large beam crashes down on the Marine, he is thrust belly deep on top of a shard of window glass.

The ambulance made the airport in under 5 minutes and before the medic car had stopped, Major Chad Shelton was already opening the back of the doors and running for his helicopter. He slide the chopper's passenger door to the side and unbolted the seats and threw them out onto the tarmac. He grabbed some bungee cords and ran back to the e.m.t. to help him get Casey's gurney into the chopper and tied down. Pastor Coburn was handling the I.V. Bag and the paramedic's bag for him, and as she passed it into him, Chad grabbed her hand and led her to the other side of his pilot seat, helping her step up into the high cockpit. He kept his hand in hers for a second longer, and then leaned down to her.

"Parson, pray like you have never prayed." He growled, and she patted his familiar face gently. She smiled through tears, and then said softly, "Major, I believe in the power of prayer or John would be dead a long time ago."

Chad crooked his eyebrow at that remark, and then slammed her door and locked it tightly. He jumped into the pilot seat, passed both of his passengers head phones, and started the chopper up. After putting his dark glasses on, he called ahead to the owner of the airport and reported their destination and received permission to lift off. Once in the air, he glanced in the rear view mirror at the paramedic who was moving around John's body, hooking up heart leads, and getting the blood pressure cuff on his arm.

"What's your name, boy?" Shelton asked, as he checked his fuel gauge and the various instruments on the dashboard. He turned toward the pastor, and noticed already her eyes were shut tight, and her lips were gently moving silently. He reached once more to touch her hand, and she smiled sadly at him and nodded, thanking him for his concern.

Without looking up at the pilot, the paramedic yelled "Dixon, sir, Sgt. Daniel Dixon". Chad startled at the name, and then stared at the young man working frantically on Shelton's brother. "You a military man, Dixon?"

"Yes, sir, served with the Army for seven years as a medic at Colorado Air Force Base." The paramedic was lifting the shreds of John's shirt away from the wound, and as he did, the Parson gave a gasp, as she shifted in her seat to get a look.

Though the shard had been immobilized, the packing was soaked in John's blood, and he was moaning, his head shifting back and forth on the gurney. Shelton glanced again the mirror and snorted out loud. Annie looked at him sharply, and asked, "What is it, Chad?"

"You wouldn't be related to Col. Dave Dixon, would you?" Shelton inquired as he winked at Annie.

"Why, yes, that's my old man, sir. Never could know what he did exactly up on that mountain. Something about..." at the same time, both men said, "space telemetry."

Annie was looking more confused at the minute, especially when Shelton threw his head back and laughed.

"Well, Sgt. Daniel Dixon, you are working on your dad's older brother under that oxygen mask!" Chad laughed again as he watched the paramedic lean back on his heels and stare at him. Shelton removed his dark glasses, and the paramedic's mouth dropped open.

"What?" Annie snorted and swatted Chad's arm in disbelief.

"You're Uncle Chad, aren't you? And this is the famous Colonel John Casey? Oh Lord, have mercy."

Dixon's eyes were huge, and he stared down at his patient. His hands began to shake slightly, and he took a deep, calming breathe in.

"Now, Sgt., don't you up and get nervous on me. Pastor Annie here will say that your tending John is a miracle from God, isn't that right, Parson?" Chad looked over at Annie, who was still trying to get a hold of the idea that her Marine friend had an identical twin and a younger brother named David. She blew out a breath and nodded vigorously. Suddenly, she frowned and glared at Chad. "How many more of your family do I not know of, Major?" She spoke his rank a little harsh, and Shelton saw the spitfire that John enjoyed in his woman.

"Ma'am, if he told you, he would have to shoot you." The medic grinned and continued to work on John's wound, repacking it, checking the blood pressure machine and the I.V. "Major, I need to radio in to Harborview and get them on board. What's our location now?" Dixon asked, through the phones, as he pressed the gauze into John's belly. Casey grunted, and his eyes flew open, searching frantically around the chopper. His intense blue stare landed on Annie, and he tried to reach up to her outstretched hand.

"Parson..." he rasped and then tried to curl up into his stomach. "Chad, you there?" He groaned again, and moved his head to see his brother.

"Sir, hold still. You got a 4 inch piece of glass imbedded in your belly, and you need to hold still." Dixon laid his hand on Casey's chest, but Casey only seemed upset at the invasion on his body space.

He became frantic, reaching all the more towards Annie who was trying to wiggle around to get closer.

The b.p. machine began to squeal, and the paramedic grabbed his bag, pulled out a sedative and injected it into Casey's hand pick line.

"Colonel, stand down." Shelton barked, as he tried to glance up in the mirror and assess the situation. Annie was getting more nervous, and the pilot reached over, unclasped her safety belt and nodded.

"Go, Parson, he needs you. Just don't get in my nephew's way." Shelton began to radio ahead to Harborview and patched the line into the paramedic's head phones. Annie slipped in between the seats, and grabbed for Casey's large, calloused hand.

"Sshh, my love, ssh. You are in good hands, beloved." Her tears renewed, dripping down on Casey's chest, and he reached slowly up and wiped them away. He tucked a loose curl around her ear, and quieted down. She smiled sadly at the tender gesture he did frequently for her, and she glanced at the e.m.t. who was talking on the radio.

"John, the Lord is here, and He personally sent you some family to help." She pointed to the young man who was getting further instructions from the emergency doctors at the Critical Care Hospital. Casey frowned in confusion, and tried to keep his eyes open. "He's your brother David's boy."

Casey grunted, and then softly slurred, "yeah, was going to tell you about that."

"Hmm, why don't I believe you, Colonel?" Annie grinned in spite of the crisis, and as John began to relax into a sedated sleep, she kissed him gently on his forehead. "Vaya con Dios, darling. Sleep well, my love. You really are in good hands."

"Vaya con dios, beloved..." Casey murmured, and his hand fell back onto the gurney. The young Sargent looked amazed at this woman who seemed to tame the savage beast.

"I know, nephew, I know. I don't know how she does it, but John seems to listen to her. Only woman I ever know he did that too, besides our mother. Hey!" Chad yelped as the Pastor punched him in the arm, while she was moving back up front. "Man, he has been teaching you some moves, woman. Isn't there something in the Good Book that says to turn the other cheek?"

"True, Major, true. But it says nothing about blowing your knee caps off. " Annie laughed at his discomfort, especially when he subconsciously messaged his right knee, nearest to her. He rammed the chopper up higher and the rest of the flight was in silence as they flew into the beautiful city of Seattle.

The lieutenant, and Chuck were pulling up to El Llarono's house. In the back of the cop car were two cases of specially made Sig Sauers, all with scopes and silencers, supposedly not available to the general public. Chuck and Sarah were on a mission to not only take down El Llarono as the drug Lord of Pastor's town, but to arrest his contact in the Russian Mafia, Alexi Volkoff. The crooked cop, Lt. Fletcher, had brokered a deal with "The Carmichaels" in exchange for a body disposal of Alexander Jefferson, the undercover name of John Casey. Every step of the way, the cop had fallen into the twin brother's trap, and Chuck only prayed that their good luck would continue. The Lt. was nervous, and kept wiping his hands on his uniform pants, and the steering wheel.

Chuck laughed heartedly at the man's discomfort, and then clicked the safety on, and returned the gun back under his suit jacket. "Your family jewels are safe now, Fletcher, but if I find you are double crossing me and my little lady, you will never live to see another daybreak." He laughed again as the cop nodded nervously, and then put the squad car into park, "Slowly, Fletcher, slowly." Chuck warned as he got out of the passenger side, and trotted to the back of the car. Fletcher beeped the trunk catch, and the two men got the cases out and headed up the back porch. El Llarono himself answered the door, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, four tatooed tears imprinted on his chicken pock marked face. He said nothing, but stepped aside for the men to come in. As they set the cases on the floor, they heard a click of a large pistol, and before Chuck could withdraw his Sig, Alexi Volkoff tisked loudly.

"Gentlemen, do not move fast. Step back slowly. I need to see the merchandise."

Chuck hardened his face, and growled in his best impression of his Marine handler, "And who in God's name are you?"

The lieutenant spoke up instantly as his nerves got the worst of himself. "It's Alex Volkoff, Carmichael! He's the one who wants your guns." In a split second, Volkoff fired a round at Fletcher and that was the last thing the crooked cop ever said again.

"Chuck, Chuck, are you all right?" Chuck heard Sarah's frantic voice in his ear bud, so he grunted again very loudly, "Couldn't stand that weasel Fletcher anyway. Mr. Volkoff, you have done me a great favor." Chuck bowed slightly to the man, whose eye brows shot up at Chuck's strange response.

"Oh, thank you, God." Sarah breathed deeply in his ear, and Chuck snickered a little.

"I would be honored to do business with you, sir." Chuck again bowed and Volkoff grinned widely, and patted El Llarono on the shoulder. "Now, there's a courteous gentleman if I have seen one. I am impressed, Mr...?" Volkoff reached out to shake Chuck's hand, and eyed him right in the pupils.

"Carmichael, sir, Charles Carmichael. I find that providing a product that is beyond my customers' wildest dreams is very satisfying work." Chuck knelt down by the cases, and opened the first one up for Volkoff to inspect. He watched with interest as Volkoff's eyes begin to sparkle. He passed one of the Sigs to El Llarono and then another to Volkoff. They both began to put the pistol through various tests, pulling the scope and silencer off and on as Charles Carmichael ran down the specs on the weapon.

"As you might know, these pistols are not available to the open market, and most of our military have not even got them. But I have ahem, a supplier that needed a favor from me, and after much persuasion, and a bullet to his gut," Volkoff grinned even wider, "I received two cases from him." Chuck kept his eyes on the pistol, watching the two men admire openly the sabotaged weapons. He was praying silently for them not to check the firing pins, since the pistols were not workable in their current state. He stood up, and then opened his jacket, offered them his Sig, showing them the same model.

"Mr. Volkoff, Mr. El Llarono, if I may call you that. If you would like, we can go try my own personal pistol at some target."

The Latino lord offered to take them to his basement, and the three men tramped downstairs where the Boogie Man had a large unfinished room below. The drug lord set up a few targets, empty cans, and then he grinned evilly. ".¡Un Momento, Por Favor! " He ran up the stairs, and the next sound they heard was him dropping the cop's body down the staircase. Chuck tried not to jump at the hideous noise the dead body was making, and his stomach churned at he looked at the Russian's delighted face.

"Why, El Llarono, you are such fun!" Alexi clapped his hands like a child, and took Chuck's Sig from him. The Crying Man chained the cop's body so it was standing up, and Alexi took aim. Chuck closed his eyes briefly so he would not have to see the bullet impact. Volkoff shot the cop one time more and then nodded approvingly at the pistol.

"True sighting, lighter than I expected. Here, Dominguez, try it." Volkoff laughed and passed the pistol to the Latino, who shot several bullets into Fletcher. In Chuck's ear, Sarah spoke quietly, "Hang in there Chuck, we got Volkoff to tell us the man's real name. Now we got to have them tell us who burnt the church down." Chuck grunted his acknowledgment, and Volkoff looked sharply at him for just a moment.

"Well, Charles, this is most excellent. Let's go upstairs and broker a deal!" He clapped Chuck on the shoulder and the three men walked quickly upstairs.

Volkoff went directly to the cases, and then began to caress the pistols as if they were human.

"Charles, is your supplier still alive? I think I may need at least two more cases of these excellent guns." Volkoff stood up again, and turned toward the lanky spy.

Chuck shook his head sadly. "I am afraid I hit him in the place that did the most damage. He will never be digesting again." Volkoff again seemed surprised and then laughed out loud.

"Yeah, he tried to tell me that someone burnt that Pastor's church down next door, while he was bent over the concrete begging me to save him."

Volkoff and El Llarono's body language instantly went defensive, and Alexi raised the Sig at Chuck, who ignored them and looked out the window at the smoldering mess of a building next door.

"Said it was some National Security Agent named John Casey. Some kind of spurned lover of the parson's. Never know what these preachers do these days. But so sorry, good bye Charlie." Chuck made a motion of a gun and turned toward the men. Both were much more relaxed, and even chuckling.

"She was a screw. Deserved the hit on the church." The Crying Man growled, and Volkoff nodded. Sarah's voice spoke again in Chuck's ear bud. "We got it, Chuck. Get the deal and get out. S.W.A.T. Teams are right behind the church."

Chuck clapped his hands together, and laughed also. "So Mr. Volkoff, Fletcher promised me a certain amount, but I wish to continue to do business with such fine gentlemen as you two, so what do you think is fair for these cases.?"

"I don't care what Fletcher promised you, I will easily double it and pay you now in cash." Volkoff nodded and stuck his hand out to shake.

"Now, Mr. Volkoff, that means you will pay me 2.7 millions dollars. Are you sure that is not too much? I want to be fair. My little lady says that I must be fair with my clients."

"Your little lady is very wise, Charles, but 2.7 is not fair." Volkoff motioned to the Hispanic man who opened a large suitcase near the sofa. "I have here in my suitcase 5.0 million dollars, and I will guarantee you that much in cash if and when you can deliver me two more cases. That, Charles, is fair."

"Why, Mr. Volkoff, Mr. El Llarono, I enjoy your business. Deal." The three men shook hands, and Chuck was passed the suitcase. He checked the amount of the cash, and nodded joyfully. He took his leave, and as they followed him out to the porch, watched him get into the squad car, and drive away, Volkoff clapped Dominquez on the shoulder.

"Been nice doing business with you, amigo" But before the two men could reenter the house, two S.W.A.T. Teams descended on the house, and captured both men. Chuck stopped the car a block away and saw the horrid murderers being led away.

"Nice doing business with you, dos hombres estúpidos!" Chuck and Sarah both laughed loudly, and he drove over to their "home" to deliver a cool 5 million back to the Federal Government.


	8. Chapter 8

The Colonel Vs. The Pastor's Boogie Man-Chapter 8

Recap: Chuck and Sarah are able to gain evidence to imprison El Llayono and Alexi Volkoff, but Casey is currently being transported by chopper to Harborview for a life threatening injury. But with his brother, nephew, and Pastor Annie on board, Casey's ride is far from over.

The chopper ride from Pastor's Annie's town had been fairly uneventful except for the revelation that the young medic working on Casey was he and Chad Shelton's nephew. Though Casey's gut wound was deep and the glass still imbedded, he was in stable condition, and his brother was heading in to land at the heliport on the top of Harborview Critical Care Center, when Chad began to pick up some emergency chatter on the radio. He glanced up in the rear view mirror at his twin, who was groaning a little as their nephew continued to change and pack the wound. The stiffness of Chad's body, however, did not pass by Annie and she reached to touch his arm.

"Chad? What's wrong?" She knew very little about the police chatter, but she saw the clenched jaw, and the look of concern sweep across the pilot's face. He glanced at Annie, and sighed heavily.

"Dixon, Harborview is no longer an option." He made sure the air was clear of traffic and he twisted in his seat toward the medic. Dixon's jaw dropped, the look of shock on his face.

"But, Major, the Colonel has already lost too much blood. He's need surgery very shortly. Why not Harborview?"

Annie tightened her hand on Chad's arm, and he twisted back in his seat and patted it, trying to reassure her. He listened harder and began to radio over several bands before he got the full report.

"There's been two different bombing attacks on Pike's Place Market and the hospitals are taking 200 people to e.r. and trama units all over the city. We've got to try and make it to Portland. That's the next hospital that has the same critical care rating as Harborview." Shelton radioed ahead to the tower and got permission to turn south toward the Rose City. As they made the huge turn, Casey groggily spoke up from behind Chad's seat.

"Man, Shelton, didn't dad teach you to use your signals when you make a sharp left?" He coughed at the feeble joke, and a speck of blood appear on his chest, which Dixon wiped away, his concern ramping up. The medic reached for some water, and slowly offered it up to Casey's lips. Casey sipped a little, but the coughing began in earnest, and he was rolled over to his left, to prevent any more choking. Annie swiveled in her seat and stared at the drip of blood now leaking from Casey's mouth, and she took a sharp breath in.

"John? You're spitting blood." Annie unlocked her seat belt, and knelt down by her friend, rubbing his back in slow circles, trying to ease the cough that seemed to ratchet the pain and blood up. He looked up at her, his blue eyes, piercing, through the bloodshot whites of his eyes. He grabbed her left hand, and held tight, gasping, trying to breathe through the deep shudders of his body.

"Colonel, let us get you back onto your back, and then I can get you some more pain meds." Dixon tenderly rolled the big man back, but Casey's hand never left Annie's. She bent down and began to softly message his forehead, gently rubbing along the bridge of his strong nose, under the bloodshot eyes, and back up to his hair. She dampened a small cloth with the bottled water and let his suck from the cloth. She rinsed the cloth out and then laid it on his forehead, and over his eyes. His body slowed down its shuddering and a deep sigh came from his throat. It was then Annie began to sing to her man, softly, slowly, in her rich alto voice,

_ "__As a deer panteth for the water, so my soul panteth after thee._

_ You alone are my heart's desire, And I long to worship Thee (Chorus)_

_ You alone are my strength, my shield To You alone may my spirit yield _

_ You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship Thee"*_

John sighed again, and he lifted her hand and kissed it. "Thank you, beloved." He whispered, and tucked her hand close to his chin. "More, sing, more Parson." Casey urged her and she continued as Dixon nodded enthusiastically, still amazed she had this kind of spiritual and physical connection with the large N.S.A. assassin.

_ " You're my friend and You are my brother. Even though You are a king,_

_ I love You more than any other,"_ at this Annie's voice broke, and tears began to fall, as she looked helplessly down at her man. She took a deep, calming breath in, and then completed the song, as she watched Casey slowly relax and drop off to sleep. 

_ "So much more than anything." _

Dixon raised his eyes up, and winked at her. "That did it, Pastor. He's resting comfortably now." He squeezed her hand, and she nodded as she rose again to get back in her seat up front. She hastily wiped the tears away and belted up. The atmosphere in the chopper was deeply reverent, and the occupants did not say anything for well over an hour.

The silence was rent in two by the huge gasp from the man on the gurney. John shot up, and then moaned loudly as he strained his belly muscles. Dixon immediately woke up and began to check the I.V. lines into Casey's hand, but the sudden movement had jarred the shard of glass and the wound was bumping blood again out into the bandage. Chad looked up immediately in the mirror, and questioned."What's going on, nephew?" He looked at Annie, who also had taken a nap, and was yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Major, we need to transfuse the Colonel and get that glass out. He's running a 103 degree temp and that's indication of infection in the abdominal cavity. Is there anywhere we can land that has a smaller hospital?" Dixon was working feverishly over Casey, who was gasping and clenching his teeth.

"Annie, Dear Jesus, my belly...it's on fire." Casey began to roll softly at first on the gurney, and then more violently. Dixon kept pumping the pain meds in the pick line, but so far nothing seemed to work. Then, a shrill alarm began to ring, and Chad began to search out the offending gauge. He flipped several switches, and swore softly under his breathe. "Shelton?" Casey groaned, "man, you had better not tell me that's the fuel gauge alarm. Arrgh!"Casey let out a short scream, and arched back as Dixon poured antiseptic around the shard. Annie once again slipped out of the front seat and found Casey's hand. She poured wet water on the cloth and held it to his lips, as he greedily drank. She poured a small trickle on his head, and he nodded at the small relief the cool water gave me. "Chad, talk to us, boy!" Casey ordered even in his supreme pain, and he nodded at Dixon to continue to try and help him.

"Shut up, John. I know what I am doing." Chad laughed rather dryly, but his eyes were scanning for any flat surface he could find that didn't have a large evergreen tree growing on it. They were flying over the Vader-Ryderwood area, almost to Mt. St. Helens. Finally, he spied a flat area near the mountain among the pristine new growth that had occurred after the volcano. He slowed the engines slowly, but the alarm continued to squeal. "I don't understand. We had more than enough fuel to get us to Portland. People, we are going to have to crash land, because in 2 minutes we are out of fuel." Shelton yelled, as the scream of the blades grew increasingly louder. "Belt yourself down. We are going in". Shelton grabbed for Pastor Annie, and after glancing at Casey, who nodded his approval, she moved up to the front seat and buckled in. "Dixon, you, too son. We are going to need your expertise, more than ever once we are down."

Shelton glanced back, as Dixon seemed to be worried about checking the Colonel's belts and bungee cords. "Stand down, Sgt." Casey ordered sharply, and then his voice softened. "You got me hog tied tighter than a sow bug in a shag rug, so get buckled in." At that phrase, Chad snorted. Annie looked at him sharply again, but he only winked. "One of mom's favorite sayings. We has a horrible gold shag rug in the living room, and she was so proud of that thing. Used all her hard earned egg money to buy that hideous carpet." Casey snorted, too, sounding identical to Chad. "Yeah, remember dad complaining the entire time that he had to spend the weekend laying it 'cuz he was too cheap to pay Vern down at the hardware store to install it?"

Though Shelton laughed easily, his eyes never stopped roaming the landscape or working the controls. He expertly guided the huge chopper closer to the forest floor, and began to count out loud as they came closer to the ground. "30 seconds, people." he called, and Casey answered him back. "You better not kill me in this tuna can, Chad, or I will personally come back from the dead and rip your heart out." Casey coughed, and again a small spittle of blood fell on his chin. Annie gasped, realizing the seriousness of the situation, but Chad just seemed to roll with his brother's jabs. "20 seconds, people. Yeah, yeah, you're the only Marine I know that dates a Christian pastor and still believes in reincarnation, dude."

Chad was pulling up hard on the controls, and he kept calling for backup on the emergency channels. Annie was praying softly at first, and now out loud, and Dixon crossed himself and lowered his head too. The ground was racing up to the windshield as Chad kept shouting the countdown, and the Huey crashed just as he say "three..." The air was ripped with the sound of metal being torn asunder, and there were several human screams emanating from the chopper. The plane tipped precariously, and the blades tore up several trees and underbrush until they bent and broke off, The nose of the machine drove into the soft forest floor by several feet and that was what finally stopped the chopper from going any further. There were several frightened warnings from various animals around the forest, but when the dust cleared, there was absolute silence for several minutes. Then slowly, as if waking from a deep sleep, a groan began to be heard from the bent and twisted cab of the chopper.

Shelton was the first to waken, and as he pulled himself upward, blood was streaming from a large cut across his forehead. He gasped at his right side, feeling a broken rib protruding into his skin. He shut off any of the chopper's power, but kept the emergency beacon on. He flipped his cell phone on, but there was no cell service. He released his seat belt, and slowly eased over to the parson. She was out cold, leaning over against her window, but a quick exam revealed no injuries as far as Chad could tell. When he gingerly turned to the back, he gasped. Dixon's head was handing to the left, his brilliant blue eyes still open, eyes so like his uncles, staring at his patient, but a large piece of the chopper's side was protruding from his brave chest. Chad sighed deeply, and gently checked the pulse, knowing that there was no hope for the young medic. He slowly closed the lids on his nephew, and breathed a short prayer, "Lord God, have mercy on his soul." He tripped over the boy's legs, but caught himself again the side of Casey's gurney, hissing as it jarred the busted rib.

John lay silent, his body had been sprung from the gurney, and he laid halfway out of the chopper's open sliding door. His left leg was at a hideous angle, and his wound was dripping blood again on the bottom of the door. Chad hollered, "John!" as he rushed over to check his pulse. Just as he leaned over to slide his hand onto John's neck, his brother jerked awake, and screamed, half in pain, and half in fury. "God, Chad, can you not even do a countdown correctly!" John tried to turn toward his brother, but he grabbed his leg and moaned. "How bad is it?" He softened his tone, as he noticed his brother grimace in pain as Chad tried to stand up. "Oh, man, Annie, Dixon." John moved to stand, but he then grabbed at his belly, and sank back down. "Easy, Colonel. Annie is out, but she is fine as much as I can tell. Dixon's gone, John." Chad patted the shoulder of his brother, and then grinned lightly, "hey, at least I got us down by 3. Last time this happened, I only got to 6." He punched John's arm and then heard Annie's voice calling for John.

"Go see to her, Chad. And Hey, bro..." John caught his twin's arm, and he nodded once. "You did good. Last time I crashed, I only got to 8." He lay back down and tried to take some calming breaths as he waited for help off the door frame. Chad grunted his thanks, and then stepped back, over Dixon's body and helped Annie unbuckle the belt. She turned to get to John, but stopped and went white when she saw the young Sgt. dead. "Oh, poor, poor man." Annie knelt as close as she could, and tried to swallow the bile that was threatening to hurl from her mouth. She touched the young man's leg, now growing cold, and prayed out loud a prayer of rest and peace upon the brace young warrior. She reached for the man's dog tags, and after unlooping them from the man's neck, she kissed them and passed them to Chad. "For David and his wife, Chad." He nodded sadly, and put them in his flack jacket, securing them for the future. "Annie, he is the fifth one in our family that has given his life for our country in one shape or form." Chad, often so full of himself, seemed melancholy and introspective, so much so the Annie found his large hand, and squeezed it gently. "Thank you Chad. Thank you to you, John, and Daniel, for allowing me the freedom to be able to do what I love the best. I once told your brother that without the soldiers in our military defending our freedoms, I could never have the freedom to do what I love so much...preaching the Word of God. Thanks seems too little to say." Annie kissed Chad lightly on the cheek, and he grabbed her, and hugged her, a soft gasp of deep emotional pain slipping past his lips. They stayed bent near Dixon until they heard a baritone voice, grunted out from the door way. "When you two get over your lady feelings, I could really use some help here."

Casey's voice went up an octave as he tried to move, and then he let out a gasp of pain. Chad stood up swiftly, and then he buckled over, and grabbed his side. Annie touched his hand, and raised up his shirt, running her hands along the muscular structure of his ribs until he sucked in a deep breath. "Broken?" she asked, and he nodded once, but lowered his head to her ear. "Please don't tell John. We have got to get his bleeding under control, and he doesn't need me huffing about a busted bone. Go woman." He pulled his shirt down roughly over the offending rib, and helped her up.

"We are not through discussing this, Major Shelton." The pastor spoke authoritatively but she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere now with this man. They both went to Casey's side, and began to see how they could lower him off the side of the door down to the ground which was a good six feet below, due to the tilt of the crashed chopper. Casey was shaking again, his face white, his eyes struggling to stay open. He smiled widely when he saw Annie and before he knew what he was doing, he reached up and kissed her deeply. "Good to see you survived my brother's idiotic piloting." He stroked her cheeks, and she grinned widely. "He did as well as you do in a high speed chase in the Crown Victoria, Colonel." Casey and Shelton both chuckled, but that set off another round of coughing and blood spittle from Casey's mouth. Annie looked up at Chad who was looking around for some rope. He opened a compartment next to Dixon's body, and brought several feet of coiled rope out and tossed it to Casey.

"John, put this around Pastor's waist and let me lower her to the ground first." Casey did what he was told and the two men slowly lowered Annie to the ground, both of them grimacing from their injuries, but successfully getting her safely to the forest ground. She slipped the rope off, and threw it back up to the twins. "John, you're next." Chad helped his brother secure it under his arm pits, so that the rope would not jar the belly wound any more. Once secured around his brother, Chad looped and knotted the end of the rope around a large o ring in his chopper and then around his own waist. He knew Casey's large body mass would need extra pull to prevent him from dropping too fast, so he double checked the knot and his own securing. John looked up at his brother who nodded and braced himself.

Casey slowly edged over to the end of the frame and back out of the chopper. He slipped very easily down the sleek side of the plane, until the metal touched the glass shard, and Casey groaned deeply as the metal edge began to pull at the shard. "Stop, Chad, Lord, please stop." The shard had moved further out of John's belly, and the wound was allowing blood to flow far too easily. Casey took a deep breath in and then ordered, "now, Chad, let me down." Slowly, Chad allowed the rope to slip through his hands, and around his body, lowering his twin very carefully down. However, Casey began to swing slowly at first and then the arc of the swing began to widen. Each swing brought the Marine Colonel closer to the ground but it also caused the chopper to move and groan. Chad was sweating, the pain in his side causing him to hitch at every breath and the rope was burning both of his palms. Casey's body weight pulled Chad forward to the door frame but his size 13 boots dug into the metal frame. Casey bobbed on the rope, like a horror puppet on a string, and he cried out his pain.

"Major, be careful, dear one." Annie yelled, as she was reaching for the Colonel, trying to slow down the swaying. "Annie, my left leg. Don't touch it!" Casey ordered, moaning as her hands did indeed grab that leg first. She instantly obeyed and as he was lowered she got him by his right leg, trying to ease his descent. He grabbed her shoulder, trying not to put his entire weight on her 5'3" frame, but she only grabbed him tighter around his waist and helped him to touch the ground. He rested his head on her shoulder and his arms went around her. He moaned softly as he breathed in her peach fragrance, and he lowered his mouth for another sweet kiss.

"I always imagined myself in your arms, Colonel, but not with you handing from your brother's Huey." Annie hugged a little at her man's waist, and then she released the rope and threw it back to Chad. She then turned and helped Casey onto the forest ground, passing him the bottle of water she had in her jacket pocket. He drag greedily from it, and watched Chad throw out various supplies from the Huey, before he descended fairly swiftly from the chopper. He watched Chad curiously, for he had seen his brother wince in pain as the rope slid through his hands. He noticed Chad's bloodied hands, and he called out for him to come towards him. "Annie, get the first aid kit." Casey looked at his woman, and she nodded as she searched the supplies for the medic's kit. The forest was becoming darker quickly and they all knew they must attend to wounds and make camp before the animals drew near. Chad plopped down slowly by his brother, and Casey had him hold out his hands, palms up. The rope had burned a large gouge out of both hands, and Casey and Annie applied antiseptic cream to them both, and then Annie wound several lengths of gauze around both of Shelton's hands. While she was doing that Casey was searching for pain meds, and he passed Chad two of them. His brother, however, only took one, explaining that he needed to set camp up and had to stand alert.

Annie next looked to Casey's wound, and found that the shard had moved significantly outward, and seemed easy to remove. They all agreed they needed to try and get it out. First Chad set John's leg with a leg brace he found in the med supplies, and found a stick of morphine to inject at the sight. Unable to pull the glass out himself, Chad instructed Annie to be the doctor for her friend. He lowered himself over the top half of his brother's body, striving to keep Casey from moving too much and causing more damage. "Chad, you have got to go on diet. You squishing me." Casey groaned, but Chad only laughed. "You use to say the same thing to me every time I beat you at wrestling." Chad pushed down even more and winked at Annie, who was slowly moving towards the shard, with shaking hands.

"I beat you! You liar, Annie, don't listen to this liar." Casey argued vehemently, and then retched as Annie pulled hard. John instantly went silent, his mouth open but no sound coming from it. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he clutched at the right side of Chad's shirt. Shelton groaned as Casey's hand hit the broken rib, and he rolled quickly off the wounded Colonel. Casey slowly let out a deep, bone chilling moan, and his body stilled, his head rolling to look at Annie. She held the bloody glass up for him to see, and he gasped, "alcohol, pour alcohol on the hole." She rummaged again through the med kit, while Chad was still gasping for breath on the ground next to his twin. Casey looked at his brother suspiciously, and reached to pull his twin's shirt up. "You broke a rib, didn't you?" He didn't have time to continue the interrogation because Annie was pouring the alcohol onto his wound. He lurched up, and hissed at the onslaught, but told her to continue. The wound was seeping both alcohol and blood, so she packed it with several layers of gauze and taped it down. Casey was sweating profusely, but he took her hand in his, and brought it to his lips. 'Parson, ever my nurse, my doctor, my heart."

He looked one more time to Chad, and nodded. "We need a fire, soon, brother." Chad nodded, and he rose slowly to look for firewood. Annie cleared a section of the forest and placed large rocks in a circle for the fire. She found matches, and several energy bars. She gave a new water bottle and one of the energy bars to John, but he only took a half of it and gave her the other half. Chad was coming back with some sticks and dry moss, and with Annie's hands and help, they were able to get a good fire started. Chad found the mess kit, and he was able to warm up some water and made hot cocoa for the three of them. Annie found a silver emergency warmth blanket and tucked it around Casey's body, which had begun to shiver again. His fever had returned so she found some fever reducing pain meds, and he took several of them.

The forest was dark now and the three of them were huddling close to the fire. John's eyes were beginning to droop but he asked Chad about the emergency beacon and a rough estimate of their location. "The beacon's been on since before the wreck, but with night falling, we probably won't get help until tomorrow morning." He looked up at the stars, thinking about the last location he had before the wreck."Best estimate is that we are about 6 miles from Mt. St. Helens, in some forest lands owned by Weyerhouser, but that's about all I know." Chad was holding his cup of cocoa gently, with his bandaged hands, which were beginning to throb again. When he tried to set the cup down, he dropped it, splashing the hot liquid on the front of his slacks, and he swore, "Damn!" Both Annie and Casey said to him, "Only God can damn."

Chad looked up and grinned at them. "You too have it bad, man." "What, what?" Annie laughed, and then reached over to help Chad with his cup. He grunted his thanks, and then sat back and asked his brother how the two unlikely pair had met. Casey was up against one of the nearby trees, and Annie was cuddling by his side. He began to tell the story of his car accident up in Capital Forest and how they met when Annie rescued him. Their relationship had grown from there, and over several months they came to realize how important they were to each other. Annie was smiling shyly at John, and she leaned softly onto his large chest. His left arm snaked around his shoulders and he drew her to him.

She yawned and then giggled. "Except for your wounds, boys, this would be a very nice camping trip. Cocoa, campfire, and spooky ghost stories. Listen, Chad, any woman special in your life? I'm not trying to pry, but I am snoopy." Both of the men snorted, and Chad looked down a little sadly into the flames. "Once...Rita is her name. I met her at the hospital where she was working. She patched a bullet wound I got, and the first time I laid eyes on her, I fell for her. Man, she was beautiful. Big heart, wider than tonight's starlit sky. In fact, we were on the way to our honeymoon, to Vegas, and she insisted that we stop and help out a poor mutt dog that got hit on the freeway. Man, I had plans. 7 course meal, Dom on ice, but it all came to a screeching halt just for the mutt. I knew a woman with a heart that big was the right one for me." Chad gingerly picked up some more sticks and threw them on the fire. The flame showed his face, deep in sorrow, and Annie knew she could not ask any more questions. She looked up at John, who was snoring softly, and she kissed his shoulder softly. "Rita was a blessed woman to love you, Chad." Annie said softly, but Chad shook his head. "Parson," he slipped and used John's pet name for her, "I was more pig headed back then than I am now. I love her, Annie, lost her to my former partner of all people." Chad's voice had a sharp tone to it, but then he sighed. "But she, last I heard, is happy and well. I can't ask for anything else for her, can I?"

He hung his head, and was very still. Annie rose carefully and then bent to kiss his cheek once more. "I repeat myself, Major. Rita was a blessed woman to love you." Chad gave a small hug to her, and grinned crookedly at her. "If my brother ever kicks you out, woman, you come see me. I'll take good care of you."

Annie laughed softly, and then, over by the tree, a baritone voice rang out, "Over my dead body, Shelton."

Well, dear friends, reposting and better editing makes this chapter a little easier to read I pray! One more chapter if the plot bunnies don't take over. Thank you for all the reviews. I am so privileged to have so many of you enter this special universe of the Colonel and the Parson with me. Please don't let up on the reviews. I read each one and take it to heart! *Lyrics of "As A Deer" by Martin Nystrom


	9. Chapter 9

The Colonel Vs. The Parson's Boogie Man Chapter 9

Recap: After the capture of El Llarono and Alexi Volcoff, Chad Shelton is airlifting his brother Casey and Pastor Annie to Harborview. However, an emergency landing near Mt. St. Helens begins to take a deadly turn for the worse before the military can come to rescue.

The deep velvet night was beginning to cool, but her right side was uncomfortably hot, so much so that her blouse was sticking to her ribs. She thrust her arm out of the silver emergency blanket, and when she did, the hard body next to her groaned in deep pain. She turned to try and see the face of John Casey, looming only a few inches from her eyes, but his eyes, normally inquisitively brilliant blue, was squeezed shut, and rivulets of sweat was trailing down his strong face and jaw. It was then Pastor Annie Coburn realized her own boyfriend's body heat was what had woken her.

"John? What's wrong?" She touched his chest, and he grabbed her hand, and raised it to his forehead.

"So hot…Chappy…so...hot." He moaned and literally licked her cold hand. He had thrown the blanket off of his body in the night, and now he struggling to keep the movement of his chills under control.

"The sun…on the sand…I can't get enough of the shade. Captain said…we need…to drink." John opened his eyes, searching frantically around him, for the shade he desired, not seeing the darken fir trees around the two of them. Annie reached over to the med kit and pulled another water bottle out. She folded his shaking hands around it, and guided them to his mouth. He only took a few sips, because he began to cough violently, and then lurched to one side, spitting something warm and wet up onto the forest ground. Annie could smell the coppery air around his mouth, and she stepped quickly over to the smoldering fire to wake up John's twin brother, Chad Shelton.

He came awake with a start, a fully cocked Sig at her face, but she held her hands up, and talked to him quietly. "Chad, you have got to help me with John. Something's very wrong."

Chad got up slowly from his crouched position, groaning a little as his broken rib caused a large pang of pain in his side, but he aimed the beam of his flashlight onto his brother, who was continuing to retch among the pine needles. He slipped the Sig back in his waistband and then crouched by his brother.

"John, what's going on?" He touched his brother's shoulder, and John reared up and grabbed him into a hug. At the same time, John's belly wound doubled him up, and the two men ended on the forest floor, on top of each other.

"Cap, you got to help me. You told me to drink…I can't do it…I can't do it." John wheezed and let go of Chad, who bit his lip as his busted bone protested. Shelton rolled off, and gasped when his bandaged burnt hands hit the forest ground. He lifted the light with both hands, and shone it in John's eyes. What he saw there concerned him greatly. The whites of John's eyes were no longer white; even in the flashlight, they were putrid yellow, and flecks of blood were encrusted not only around John's mouth but on his nose and in each ear. Chad tried to get the thermometer from the med kit, but his bandaged and burned hands set him off in a round of yelping pain, as he knocked them against the zipper. He dropped the flashlight, and gathering his hands together, moaned, rocking back and forth on his haunches.

"Parson, get the thermometer. John, let the Parson take your temp, man." Annie rummaged around in the kit, and pulled a small thermometer out to test John. However, Casey shut his lips tight, and refused to take it in.

Shelton had had enough. He roared loudly, "Let the chappie take your damn temp, soldier!" He put the flashlight in his mouth, and shone it so Annie could take John's temp. The Marine colonel immediately stopped his erratic head movement, and opened his mouth obediently.

Annie looked at Chad out of the corner of her eye, and frowned slightly, and then returned to counting the three minutes she needed to take John's core temperature.

With the flashlight still in his mouth, Chad groused, "I know, only God could damn but sometimes I want to kill my older brother!"

Annie smirked at that statement, and then the gauge beeped. "104" she sighed heavily. John began once again to look out beyond the campsite to try and look for something his only own mind could see.

"You hear, chappie? You hear? The s.o.b. Bathe separatists have got us surrounded. I told the Captain this was going to happen. I just need to find my gun. You got my gun, chappie?" John was getting frantic and he tried to pull himself up from the ground, by latching on to her shoulders.

"Listen, Casey, the captain got your gun. He said he would put some more bullets in it for you, so you can be ready when they strike, ok?" Annie was desperately trying to keep her voice and heart calm, so she could connect with the world John was currently in. "Why don't you lie back, and let me check that belly wound of your, Marine?" she glanced at Chad who was nodding admirably at her adlib performance. John nodded once, and tried to lie down, but his left leg caught on a root, and he gasped as he remembered the break.

"See, chappie, they did this to me? They blew a hole in my belly, and then they gun butted my leg. You got to get my gun back, chappie! I don't want to be without my gun." He grabbed her hands, and begged her with his entire being. It was then Shelton passed him the unloaded Sig, and explained, "Here, Lt. Casey, I got the gun loaded and ready for you. You keep it near your chest, while Chappie and I look at your belly wound, ok?"

John took the gun gratefully, hugging it to his chest, as a little boy hugs a favorite toy.

"Oh, Cap, that's really good. Thanks, Cap." John seemed less frantic, and he allowed them both to shine the flashlight on the bandaged wound. The gauze was filled with blood, and as Annie peeled the various layers off, a small but steam stream of blood was flowing out of the wound. She gasped loudly, and shot a glance at Casey's brother.

"What's happening, Chad? He'll bleed to death, if we don't stop it." Chad lowered his head and wiped his forehead with his bandaged hand. He grabbed the flashlight out of his mouth, and stared at the preacher.

"We've got to stop the flow. There's an artery that is broken open, and we have got to locate it and shut it off." He gingerly took the med kit and dumped the contents out onto the ground. Using one finger of his right hand, he poked through until he found some suture thread and a surgical needle. He passed the supplies to Annie, whose mouth was hanging open at his plan. He looked at her neck, and commanded her, "Get that cross necklace off, Annie. You are going to use the necklace to shut the bleeding off, and then you can suture the artery shut."

Her eyes widened, and she began to shake slightly from the fear. "Dear God, you are not suggesting that I perform surgery here in this forest?"

Chad grabbed her hands, and squeezed them slightly, wincing at the pain. "Annie, this has been done on the battle fields of Europe, and in Iraq. We locate the bleed, loop the necklace around it, tighten it, and then sew off the ends with the surgery thread."

"But, what if he bleeds to death because I do something wrong?" She looked down at John, still cradling the Sig against his chest, but his body was jerking sporadically. Chad gently took her chin, and brought it up to look at his face. He gulped slowly, and then said quietly, "If you don't do it here, now, then he will bleed to death."

She closed her eyes, and said a soft prayer for her beloved Colonel. When her eyes opened, Chad's head was bowed too, and she realized he was praying also.

"Amen," he softly said, and crossed himself. He looked up, and grinned smugly. "Hey, never hurts to get more help on our side." Annie laughed softly, and then asked, "What do we do first?"

"Find some i.v. tubing. John and I have the same blood type, of course, so we need to fix up some basic transfusion lines from me to him, so he won't go into shock. Any pain meds in there?" Chad shone the light on the ground, as Annie found the tubing with needles attached and a bottle of Vicodin. He crawled on his knees over to John, and lifted his brother's head onto his lap. John turned his yellowed eyes onto his "Captain" and smiled shakily.

"Lt., I want you to take some pain meds. Chaplain and me, we're going to fix your belly wound, but it's not going to be fun. While we are patching up your belly, you keep look out for those separatists, ok, son?" John nodded, and with Chad's help to lift his head, he dry swallowed four pills, and laid his head back down on John's lap.

Annie found two rubber elastics and she first tied Chad's left upper arm off, and began to hit the vein so it would pop up. She then tied off John's left arm, and repeated the same thing. Chad kept the light in his teeth, and followed her movements carefully. He hissed as she inserted the needle first into his arm, and then nodded with approval as she inserted the other end into Casey's. Slowly at first, and more rapidly Chad's blood flowed from his arm into his brother's, and as the more the blood flowed the clearer John's mind became.

"Chad, Annie what have you two in mind?" he groaned and looked down at the needle in his arm with bewilderment.

"John, you're bleeding to death. Doctor Annie here is going to perform surgery on your belly, and then we are going to close you up and let you sleep, ok, older brother?" Chad figured he better not lie now, but John just nodded slowly, as his eyes began to droop.

"That's nice, Annie." He slurred. "Just don't tell Chad I really like his blood, ok?" He nodded slowly, and shut his eyes, relaxing into the pain medications.

"Ok, Annie, now, Take the gauze and try to clear as much blood and scab away from the wound, by washing it out with saline." As Annie poured the saline in, the wound bubbled, and John grimaced at the pain, his eyes still shut.

"See, the bubbling? That's the bleed. Take the cross off your necklace, and loop the chain around the leaking artery." Chad's speech was slurred around the flashlight, but he dare not handle it with his wounded hands.

Annie slowly looked into the gaping hole, and gasped at the bubbling. "I found it, Chad." She carefully looped the chain around the artery, and then pulled it tight. John screamed, and his entire body bolted upward, even under the pain meds. Chad threw himself over his brother's chest, trying to get him to settle down, as he continued to talk to John carefully and calmly. "Now, John, don't you go mucking up Dr. Annie's surgery, now, right? She is working hard to make your belly stop hurting, but you got to do your part." John settled down at the sound of his brother's voice, and Chad released his hold. Swiftly, Annie sutured the ends with the thread, and then poured more saline into the wound. This time, John only moaned, and his eyes fluttered open as he searched for her face.

"Beloved…" he asked softly. She paused in her movement and moved closer to his face. He brought his hand up to her and wiped a tear from her eye. "Will…you… marry me?" He tried to keep his eyes open long enough to get her answer, but it was a losing battle. Chad snickered, and then said, "See, Parson, I told you you two had it bad."

"That proposal is about as real as the separatists John is seeing out in the woods." Annie scoffed, and packed the wound with more gauze and taped it up. She pulled the transfusion needles out and bandaged both of the brothers' arms. She put everything back in the med kit pack, and as she was standing to stretch, Chad rose carefully and held his arms out.

"Come here, woman." He ordered softly, and she fell into his arms, sobbing with the release of the stress of the surgery. He soothed her hair, noticing it smelled softly of peaches, and he began to rock her gently. "You did good, woman. Real good. Now, let's you and I share a celebratory power bar, and snuggle next to that big brute of a brother of mine, until the morning all right?"

Annie nodded slowly, suddenly feeling very exhausted. He led her over to John once again, and pulled the blanket over Casey and her. He found a power bar, and broke it in half and shared it with the parson. She munched on it thankfully, but before she finished it she had already fallen asleep on his brother's chest.

Chad popped a pain pill, also, and then snuggled over on the other side, under the silver blanket. He looked up into the sky, when the first rays of early dawn were beginning to appear. "You did good, God, too. Thank you." He said softly, and then promptly fell asleep also.


	10. Chapter 10

The Colonel Vs. The Parson's Boogie Man Chapter 10

Recap: Colonel John Casey, Major Chad Shelton, and Pastor Annie Coburn are stranded in the middle of the Mt. St. Helen's forests with Casey near death from a stomach wound. Only an impromptu surgery among the forest trees has any chance of saving his life.

The sound was far off in the distance, a rhythmic swapping, even coming closer. He though it sounded so much like those pesky South California mosquitoes he fought every time he took out the trash behind the Buy More complex. John reached up slowly and batted the stupid pests away from his face, and he accidently swatted a human body next to him. Imagine his surprise when a head popped up above his chest, with a grunt and a cuss word.

"John, man, what are you doing? It's too early!" Chad moaned loudly and poked his brother's rib rather hard. "Roll over, you're stealing the blankets again." John hissed as his brother's hand came in contact with the bandages over his right lower stomach.

"Dear Lord, Chad, you are still a crab when you wake up. Hasn't the military taught you anything about discipline, or do I need to talk slower?" John teased, making his voice "dumb down", and tried to sidle his back up to the tree he was sitting against, and then he noticed a lump on his left. He looked at Chad, who was trying to stand up, and watched his brother's grimace at the busted rib, and the burnt hands.

"You doing ok, bro?" John looked a little concerned, but his brother said nothing and staggered off into the woods for a bathroom break. Then the lump on Casey's left began to move ever so slowly, brown eyes peeking out from under the emergency blanket. "Ow!" John exclaimed when a leg came in contact with his busted leg, and he poked the lump a little harder. "Watch it, buster!" John spoke a little harshly, and then he grinned as the cute face of his woman was trying valiantly to not yawn, and to open her eyes.

"John, is that you? Oh my Lord, you're alive." Annie jumped up and tested his forehead for any fever. His face was only slightly warm, and his blue eyes were clear and sparkly. He reached up and tried to get her to quite fussing around him. "Sit, Parson, geesh!" She plopped down beside him, and he leaned over, gingerly, for a kiss. She hungrily returned his kiss, and he pulled her head harder against his lips. His tongue demanded entrance, and soon they were gasping, craving the taste and touch of each other's hands and mouth.

"Hehem! Man, do I have to face you two sucking face so early this morning? God, that is so disgusting." Chad was standing over the two, his lips curled over in a sneer, and he was shaking his head. John growled, but Annie giggled and jumped up to place a quick kiss on Chad's cheek.

"My turn for the bathroom, boys!" She yelled, and took off behind some nearby bushes. "Not too far away, Parson. I hear tell there are some Sasquatches not far from here!" Chad laughed and called out to her, but the only rely was a roll of medical tape which flew through the air behind Annie and beamed him in his head.

"Hey, not bad aim, Parson. You're improving." John snorted as Chad rubbed the spot on his head, and then noticed the bandaged hands.

"How bad are your hands, Chad?" John pulled on Chad's flight jacket, and made him squat down beside him. Chad tried to pull away, but John growled again, and carefully unwound the strips of gauze until he saw the deep boils creased lengthwise along Chad's palms. He touched the wounds gently, and watched his twin's eyes dilate in pain. He then reached up and pulled his brother's shirt up and inspected the rib. Again Chad grimaced in pain, but tried to cover up with bravado.

"Bro, you're a little invasive today." Chad shrugged off John's hands, and stood up to go and make the fire for coffee. "Major, halt." The Colonel's voice rang out harshly just as Annie was stepped out from the bushes. She looked at the two men, both seething with anger, and then Chad did an about face, and smartly saluted his brother. Annie gulped but walked slowly to where John was trying to move up.

"Sir, yes, sir." He glared at the Colonel, but stood ramrod straight, in perfect attention. John rose slowly from his sitting, using the tree to brace himself. He refused Annie's hand, but his right hand grabbed his belly. He pulled himself up to his full 6 foot 4 inch height. His face softened at Chad, and he looked at the man he had come to admire greatly during this mission. "Let the preacher look at you, Major. And then let her make the coffee. She does a better job at it, soldier."

Chad released the anger he had at his brother, and then smirked. "Yes, sir, Parson Annie, ma'am!" He again did an about face, and marched to the campfire and plopped down by the ashes. He looked at Annie with a puppy dog face, and held up his burnt hands.

"Snarky, brat, snarky." John growled but his good humor had returned. However, with the additional movement, he began to slowly slump against the tree. Annie seemed delighted that the brothers were not fighting any longer, and after helping John sit back down, she went over to Chad, bathed his hands with bottled water, put some antiseptic salve on them, and rewrapped them. Chad nodded his thanks and began to try and gather some more wood for the fire.

Between the two of them, they were able to get a respectable fire going, and after finding some coffee grounds and pot in one of the containers Chad had dropped from the helicopter, they were soon enjoying the warmth and the caffeine. Annie also found some instant oatmeal, and after giving both men pain meds, she made sure they all ate some hot cereal.

By this time a Huey helicopter flew very near to their location. The three of them looked up, and Annie began to wave to their rescuers, jumping up and down. Chad laughed at her antics, and tried to get her to sit.

"Pastor, they see us. They're just looking for a safe place to land. Why don't we get John ready to transport and clean up the campsite?" Annie obeyed, stuffing all the medical equipment back in the first aide kit and the camping kitchen gear in a container. Chad slowly moved around and got the garbage picked up, pouring the last of the bottled water and coffee on the fire. He kicked some dirt on it, and watched the last ember die out.

"Shelton, need your help." The Colonel was trying to stand, and Annie stopped her picking up and ran over to his side. He leaned heavily on her, still shivering and gasping from the pain. His hand touched her bare throat, and he startled, tracing where the necklace use to be. He frowned, and stared deep into her face.

"Beloved, your necklace I gave you. It's gone." Casey was not pleased, especially when Chad strolled up and punched his arm lightly.

"Hey, Colonel, don't get your knickers in a twist. Your woman did emergency surgery on your belly last night, and that necklace is what is currently holding your guts together. Now, what can I help you with?"

Chad hefted John's arm around his shoulder, and nodded to Annie to release him. Casey leaned onto his twin, and whispered into his ear, "gotta pee."

"Well, lookie there, Parson. The high and mighty N.S.A. assassin needs his incredibly handsome brother to help him pee." Chad whooped loudly, but slowed his pace to match the angry man he was holding up. Casey limped heavily on his leg, and each step was a painful jar up into his left hip. Annie thought she heard her man grousing a few choice words at his brother as the two crashed noisily into the bushes, and she giggled when she saw Casey deliberately hold his brother's side a little harder than necessary.

Five minutes later, the two men crashed back out again, Casey nearly doubled over with pain, but his bladder greatly relieved. Chad led him to the nearest tree and just as they were helping John down to the ground, several heavily armed men immerged into their campsite. They were greeted with two Sig Sauers cocked and aimed at their hearts by the men they had come to rescue. What surprised Chad and Casey the most was the Pastor Annie was also pointing Chad's Glock right along with them, her feet spread solid and both hands around the grip. Her face was set in a familiar snarl, and she was not backing down until all the people identified themselves.

"Dear God, what a woman." Chad sighed, clearly in amazement and reached down to help his brother up from the forest floor. Casey grinned widely, "You are not akidding, Chad." He tried to get up but a set of strong arms caught him before he collapsed to the hard forest floor.

"Easy, Colonel, easy." The familiar voice growled in his ear, and he stared at the amused grin of Colonel David Dixon, their brother. Annie came forward, her face screwed up in confusion, and watched as the three men hugged each other.

John reached out to catch Annie's hand, and he brought it to his lips, brushing it against his warm mouth. "Dave, meet the Parson. Parson, my brother Colonel David Dixon, stationed at Cheyenne Mountain."

"Ma'am", David's eyes, identical to his brothers, twinkled brilliant blue also, and he shook her hand respectfully. "John has told me good things about you, Pastor. I understand that in the sting your church building was torched. General Beckman and my C.O. General O'Neill are currently seeing if the U.S. military will release the 3 million dollars from Volkoff's arms payment to your church to help reconstruct the building. That along with the church's insurance should pay for a new facility. Whenever you need to return home, I will personally see that you are escorted safely home." Annie's hand flew up to her mouth, and she began to burst into tears.

"Oh, thank you Jesus." She whispered and leaned over Casey, now strapped into a gurney, giving him a huge hug. "You deserve it, beloved." Casey kissed her hand, even as he grimaced at the wound she had inadvertently bumped. She squealed and then jumped into Chad's waiting arms, and hugged and kissed his cheek. Chad kept hugging her, until Casey pulled her off of his body.

"Enough, Major". Casey growled and then Annie surprised them all by running to Dave's arms and hugging him. He seemed a little put off and then he leaned down and returned the hug. She pulled him to the side of the all the activity, knowing that both Chad and Casey were being taken care of.

Dixon leaned his head down nearer to her voice, and the two of them talked in hushed tones. Suddenly, he shot straight up and stared at the Huey, his face, cold as ice. Annie took his hand once more, and he nodded slowly, his shoulders slumping, as she shared with him the news of the brave death of his eldest son. He then straightened his spine, just as Casey does so often, and barked out new orders.

"Medic, make sure both the Colonel and Major are strapped down and ready for transport. Goodwin, LaChester, come with me." Dixon marched up to crashed chopper, and the three men tossed harnesses up and ascended on ropes into the belly of the machine. Annie watched them until the three disappeared and then she rushed up to another Marine and got his help to take her up to the cabin.

"Parson, stand down. This is none of your business." Dixon was livid that she had somehow showed up, right next to him. She adamantly shook her head, staring directly at him.

"Your son's body is my business. I will accompany your son until he is laid to rest with the dignity and honor given to any American hero." Annie spoke clearly and authoritatively, and glared right back at this man, so like her Casey. He nodded once, and she stepped out of the way, as the three men began to cut the piece of metal from the chopper's side. It took all their strength to pull his body off of the piece that had harpooned him, and at the sickening sound, Dixon wiped a few tears from his face and glanced at the pastor. She stood tall and strong, and began to sing in a clear, beautiful alto "Amazing Grace" so they would not have to hear the retched sound of flesh being ripped by the metal. The Colonel caught his son in his large arms, cradling the boy close to his expansive chest. He kissed the head of his eldest, and refused to let go for several minutes. As Annie's voice traveled over the campsite below, both Chad and Casey stopped the men carrying them and ordered them to stay put. Annie stepped forward slowly, and knelt down to touch his arm.

"The Major has his dog tags, Colonel. You have a wonderful son and I will never forget the care and respect he gave to my John. Thank you for allowing him to serve." Dixon choked back a sob, and he grabbed tightly to her, his face buried in her hair.

LaChester's radio spoke up, and he stepped forward. "Sir, we would be honored to help you carry the Sergeant down. McMaster says the chopper is ready to transport." Dixon rose, and steeled his body for the final journey for his son. With Goodwin and LaChester's help, they harnessed Daniel's body, and lowered him slowly. When they all repelled down, including the Parson, Casey's voice rang out, "Attention!" and every man stood, and saluted, including Colonel John Casey and Major Chad Shelton. Colonel Dixon and the Parson walked solemnly with his Daniel strapped to a stretcher, and the elder Dixon acknowledged each man's salute.

Chad and John were again laid on stretchers, and Chad commanded, "Head out, people." Annie continued to walk along with Colonel Dixon, but she glanced back at Casey. His head was bobbing with the movement, but he winked at her, and then closed his eyes, finally letting go of the fight.

Epilogue

Sgt. Daniel Dixon was laid to rest in Colorado National Cemetery, with full military honors two weeks later. The presiding pastor at the graveside was Rev. Annie Coburn, and gathered around the casket, was three identical looking men, standing straight and tall, two Colonels, and one major, all in full dress uniforms. Each man, so distinctive and yet so alike listened carefully to the words of the pastor, and all three seemed amazed when two generals also joined up to the ceremony, one a short, red headed Army General named Diane Beckman, and one a lean, grinning Air Force general named Jack O'Neill. Sitting in the chairs around the casket was a young blond haired woman who was leaning heavily on David's wife Janelle, and holding hands with three other children, all with brilliant blue eyes like Casey. After Annie sang "Amazing Grace" once again for the crowd, the American flag was presented to the blonde haired woman, who began to sob in earnest, clutching the triangle to her chest. Every military officer saluted sharply the flag, their eyes staring respectfully at the symbol of our nation. Taps was played by a lone Air Force musician, and as the last note reverberated through the cemetery, the color guard saluted the departed hero with a gun salute.

Annie concluded the service, and the Dixon's remaining three children put a single red rose on the casket, and turned to leave. Dave moved away from his brothers, and clasped the hands on his wife, and the two lovingly stroked the casket, holding tightly to each other, as they shared their deep grief. They then turned to Annie, and spoke words of thanks to her, and joined their other children to load up cars for the reception.

Major Chad Shelton went next, carefully laying a red rose on the casket, his head bowing for a few minutes his hands still in bandages. He turned sharply and saluted both Generals, who returned the salute, and Shelton stepped behind them, ever vigilant in protection detail.

Colonel John Casey came next. He limped carefully toward the casket, but stopped as he passed the tear filled face of his woman. He held his hand out to her, and she clasped it gratefully. Together, the two of them approached the body, and Casey laid two roses on it.

"Thank you, Daniel. It was an honor to serve with you, son. I regret…" John shuddered, and Annie leaned into his side to undergird him. He smiled sadly at her, and then continued. "I regret that I did not have the good fortune of meeting you sooner. You and the parson here saved my life. I will never forget that." He bowed his head, and replaced his hat. The two of them stepped away, and as he turned, he also saluted the Generals. He introduced Annie to the Air Force General, and General Beckman gave the Parson a big hug, surprising her N.S.A. handler.

"Reverend, when this is all done and you are ready to fly home, I need to debrief you on some things." Beckman took her hand, and squeezed it softly.

"Yes, ma'am I understand." Annie looked a little taken back, but she calmed down when she felt John's reassuring hand on her back.

O'Neill smiled at the pastor widely, and Annie instantly took a deep liking to him. "Pastor, you did a bang up job at a difficult situation today. I hear you even tried some deep forest surgery on the big lug here!"

Annie giggled as John stiffened, and Jack shook hands with the Colonel. "John, she's a keeper. Don't let her out of your sight, and that's an order." John relaxed and then looked lovingly down at the pastor.

"Sir, I do not intend to. That's one order I can obey." He agreed wholeheartedly, and winked at her.

"Now, Reverend, Diane and I want you to know that because of Charles Bartowski and Sarah Walker's fine job at the sting operation in your hometown, both Volkoff and Dominquez are behind bars forever, and the 5 million dollars recovered has paid the debt on the Bartowksi's mortgage of $2 million. That leaves three million dollars for your congregation to rebuild their facility. But, there is a catch." The two generals were walking with John, Annie and Chad to their cars. Jack stopped and then grinned widely again.

"Not only must every congregational member put sweat equity into your new facility but there are three Coburn brothers that need to wield a hammer for a month under your command."

"What?" Both Chad and Casey sputtered, and then they both said it at the same time, "sir?"

General Beckman laughed and beaconed for her aide to bring a briefcase to her. She opened it and Jack presented Chad and Casey with new hammers from Large Mart, and a check for $3 million to Annie, who was grinned a little evilly at the news of the arrangement.

"Thank you, Jesus! Generals, I would be honored to give orders to the Coburn brothers. I have been waiting to tell them what to do for a long time!"

Jack laughed heartedly and the two generals left with the Secret Service in two unmarked cars.

David strolled up too, and he pulled out a hammer just like theirs from under the jacket of his uniform.

"May I report for duty in about a month, Parson? I need to make sure Dan's wife is ok and that our kids are taking Dan's death well." He grinned and clinked his hammer against his brothers then returned to join his family

"Well, boys, I am soooo going to enjoy this." Annie linked her arms in Chad's and John's and the three of them walked carefully to their cars. Suddenly, John stopped, and spun around.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Chad's got something for you, Parson."

Shelton began to look in all his pockets and then laughed and pulled out a new silver chain with a beautiful new cross on it. He passed it to John, who clasped it around Annie's neck and then leaned in to kiss it.

"It's beautiful, John. Thank you." Annie was in awe at the simple design.

"Oh, that's not from John, Annie. That's from me. He has that for you." Chad grinned slyly and pointed to his brother. When she turned around, John was kneeling carefully down on his good knee and was holding up a small, black velvet box.

"Annie, Chad told me I was pretty delirious in the forest. Something about the desert and sand, and all kinds of crap. But the one thing I was very sane about was wanting to ask you to marry me. Parson Annie Coburn, would you marry me?" He opened the box, and the sun caught the glint of a solitary silver diamond, in a carved band of white gold. Annie gasped and took the ring out. John looked expectantly up at her, and she screamed, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and nearly bowled his over as she latched onto him. He slipped the ring on her left hand, and she cried again, clutching her hand to her chest.

"Congratulations, you two!" Chad laughed at Annie's exuberance, and he hugged her tightly too. When

he glanced down at John, he saw that the Colonel was having a hard time standing.

"Here, old man, take my hand. You are going to need all the help you can get to try and handle this spitfire." John begrudgingly took Chad's help, and stood up, slapping it away as soon as he was stable.

"Brat!" John growled at Chad, as he helped Annie into the Crown Vic.

"Geezer" Chad retorted as he got in the back seat and unbuttoned his jacket.

"Family!" Annie shouted, and both men agreed.

The End

What a joy this has been to enter into the world of John Casey and his brothers. Would you leave a review below? Your input and your critiquing are always welcomed.


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